Resuscitation: Something's Rotten in Nerima
by brown phantom
Summary: 起死回生 To turn a dire situation into a success. Ranma is known for doing that in the most dire times. But when an unknown flu comes to town, even he may not make it out alive.
1. First Bite

__I've wanted to do one of these stories ever since I joined this site. I just couldn't come up with a satisfying plot line to make such a story work for me. Thanks to my friend Tellemicus Sundance, I now have one that I believe I can make work. The first chapter will be using his abandoned story 'Letters of the Heart' as a basis, with his permission. Beyond that though will be a separate story than what he originally intended.__

 _ _Chapter 1—First Bite__

 _'He always run away.'_ A white and purple cat thought to herself, mourning silently while up in a tree. _'Why? Why_ _ _always__ _running away?'_

This of course was no ordinary cat, this was Shampoo of the Joketsuzoku, being careful to not be seen within the foliage. As much as she hated her curse, if nothing else it helped hide her right now. The tree she was currently in was just outside the Tendo dojo, practically leaning against the perimeter wall. With it she could look into the house and observe the object of her affection. Normally she'd take a more direct approach, but at the moment her self esteem was a little lower than normal so she resorted to this.

 _'Oh Airen, all Shampoo ever want was to show you love and have it returned. Am I gross to you? What is wrong? Is it my hair? My body? My voice? My touch?'_ She asked herself, feeling a little more glum as she did. _'What so repulsive that you rather be with too too violent girl instead?'_

The cursed teenager looked into the residence from the back, seeing mostly the dining room by the koi pond but there was a glimpse into the room with the tv via a back window. Similar windows allowed her to glance into the bedrooms of the three Tendo girls, but she had no wish to look in there. Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi weren't the ones she wanted to see after all.

Morning started normally. Kasumi got up and made breakfast, and with today being Saturday there was no need for anyone to be in a hurry. Ranma, her dear Airen, partook in his ritualistic morning sparring session with his father, this time forced to do it shirtless. Shampoo purred while watching his muscles move so openly. And as usual the spar concluded with both Saotomes getting wet and transforming into their cursed forms conveniently around the time Kasumi announced that breakfast was ready.

Breakfast went about normally, the residents conversing with the Amazon unable to hear what was said. Ranma returned to male form and decided to relax within the house today since it was the weekend. Shampoo could see him reading some manga and watching television from the looks of it, and if she was correct he was reading a series she herself was fond of. Maybe this would give them something to talk over.

Of course things just couldn't stay peaceful for too long here. The little imp known as Happosai chose to appear and quickly drenched Ranma, turning him female so the lech could have something to grope. As she always has before, Ranma removed the small old man and chased him about six times or so around the house promising great harm once caught. Happosai eventually got the hint and left, likely for yet another of his infamous panty raids. Shampoo had been a victim of them once before Cologne got to him.

As if the ancient pervert wasn't bad enough, which he was, somehow a surprisingly violent argument broke out between Ranma and Akane once he was gone. This one sounded bad even for them, and predictably resulted in Ranma being sent into LEO via one of Akane's favorite attacks.

 _'Why... why Airen like her more than me?'_

As always Ranma eventually returned to the dojo, in female form, but this time she took the back route, passing by the tree that Shampoo was in. Even if she looked up she wouldn't have seen Shampoo, but something else did catch her eye.

"What's that?" She asked herself, seeing something stick out of the bushes at the base of the tree. It looked like a discarded sleeve, and she pulled it out. "Wait, is this... Shampoo's blouse?"

The cat in the tree perked in panic and looked down. Below her, Ranma dug through the shrub and found her discarded clothes that she tried to hide. Apparently she hadn't been as good at it as she thought. _'Oh no, Airen will find out.'_

Ranma pulled out Shampoo's shirt and pants, and blushed big time when she found the purple-haired girl's underwear. Of course she immediately dropped it and looked around, paranoid that someone had seen him touch this.

"Okay, okay, calm down Ranma, no one saw you." She said to herself. "I don't know why Shampoo's clothes are here, and I don't want to know. She'll come back and get them herself, no one will be able to use this against me for once."

Shampoo twinged a bit, hurt by how her loved one seemed virtually conditioned to expect pain as an immediate consequence of being with others. That was no way to live.

Ranma shoved all the clothes back into the bushes, better than Shampoo had done so, then went back towards the house. Life within the house carried on, and judging from the lack of shouts it was safe to assume that no one was accusing Ranma of doing something wrong.

Feeling a little grateful for not being discovered, but glum that Ranma likely was afraid of seeing her anytime soon now, Shampoo curled up like one would expect of a cat, silently bemoaning how life was for her.

 _'Does Airen... hate me?'_

Shampoo was, for all intents and purposes, a very strong girl. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and morally. But like all people, she had her moments of weakness, which were steadily growing more common the longer she stayed here in Nerima. And while she could hide her pain far better than most others, once in a while she just needed a private moment to cry.

Unable to cry in her cat form, Shampoo decided she had been here long enough. It was a good thing that today had been one of her days off work at the Nekohanten, or else her great-grandmother would have come looking for her after the first hour. Standing up, Shampoo stretched a bit in a very feline manner then jumped down out of the tree, landing on her clothes. She had some water to let her become a cat, but it wouldn't have stayed warm long enough to turn her back. And she knew asking the Tendos for help would have only led to more conflict.

 _'I just come back for clothes like planned. Just faster so they no get rid of them.'_ She told herself, taking a moment to gather herself. When done, she silently strolled away looking like any other stray cat in town. Even so, she had to take a path that would allow her to avoid most foot traffic. Best way to avoid being bothered by people.

When she was in a gap between buildings Shampoo heard something that made her stop. It was a low unfriendly growl, like an angry animal, and it was coming from behind her. She tried to turn but before she could there was a loud bark that sounded dangerously close and footsteps that sounded like something running.

 _'Oh crap, stray dog!'_ Shampoo thought, immediately taking to running as fast as she could. Luckily she was faster than any ordinary cat, able to keep up with female Ranma for a short while, but the dog had more experience than her in running on four legs so it was still a legit threat to her.

Hoping someone would help her, Shampoo ran out to a more public area meowing as loud as she could. People were quick to notice her, but there was only one person Shampoo noticed.

"Oh my."

Seeing Kasumi was out shopping, Shampoo couldn't help but run towards her. While Kasumi couldn't fight off a dog, she could do more about it than a cat could, and if nothing else nobody else out here would allow Kasumi to be hurt. She was the safest place the Amazon could get to right then, and she headed there as fast as her paws could carry her.

When she got close she jumped up in an effort to land in Kasumi's usual shopping basket. This surprised the oldest Tendo, who didn't recognize the cursed feline and jumped back. Others who were close to her were surprised too and tried to shoo her away. The dog was briefly ignored in this and kept at Shampoo, bounding into Kasumi and knocking her over, making anyone close to her back away to avoid getting caught in the spill.

"Get off me!" Kasumi said loudly, trying to push the mongrel off her.

It responded by biting her right arm hard enough to draw blood.

Kasumi yelled and this prompted everyone to react and pull the mutt off her. One of them grappled the animal in an effort to control it. It released her but snarled and tried to bite back, squirming free enough that it actually succeeded in biting off one of the guy's fingers.

Shampoo got up and looked to Kasumi, who was seated on the pavement trying to withstand the pain of her injury. A few people were tending to the wound, trying to wash it and wrap it up with what they could find.

"Get out of here!" Someone said, grabbing Shampoo and tossing her aside, afraid the cat would only make things worse.

Shampoo landed on her feet and took the hint, running off before others could get mad at her. _'I apologize later.'_ She told herself.

Another person meanwhile managed to pin the dog down and applied a lot of pressure to it. After a lot of struggling the sound of bone breaking could be heard and the dog went still.

"There, it's gone." He said, wiping his forehead, before getting to Kasumi and the man missing one finger. "You okay?"

"I need a hospital! Of course I'm not okay!" The injured man yelled, going off to get himself to medical care.

Kasumi was helped up, her wound still obvious. "I need to get home. I'll be helped then."

"Get to a hospital anyway. The dog was dangerous, who knows what it had." The helper suggested. Looking back at the now dead dog, it was pretty obvious the thing was unhealthy. Patches of fur were missing and the skin didn't look a healthy color.

"Thank you everyone." Kasumi told those that helped her before gathering her things and making it home, hand clutching her arm the whole way.

* * *

The walk back to the Nekohanten took longer than she thought, but she made it back around lunch hour. Fortunately the back door to the restaurant had a cat door installed for just these occasions. She went in and now she was noticed.

"About time you returned Shampoo. I expected you back hours ago." Cologne called, wiping down the countertops while looking at her transformed great-grandchild. "Mousse is out making deliveries, but fortunately today had been rather slow and uneventful, so we could..."

Cologne trailed off when she noticed that Shampoo wasn't even looking at her. The purple and white cat just walked on with her head hung low, like a walk of shame, and got to the stairs to head up to the residential section of the cafe.

 _'That's not a good sign.'_ Cologne thought. _'What has her down?'_

Thanks to work, the elderly Amazon had to put off tending to her relative. This at least gave her time to think of how to help Shampoo. As she did, one of her customers caught her attention. The customer, a college student by the looks of age and clothing, was hunched over a notebook and was furiously writing and then rewriting something in it. He didn't look too good, like he might have a weak version of the flu, and his ramen was getting cold due to him barely touching it.

"Young man," Cologne said, catching the customer's reluctant attention. "I do not refund or particularly enjoy dumping out hard-made meals. So please put your homework away and finish your ramen before it goes to waste."

The young man tried to nod, but while he did he paused for a pretty bad cough. "Sorry ma'am, I must not be as hungry as I thought. Heh, flu's hitting a little early this year isn't it?" As he spoke he kept tapping his pencil against the notebook in an annoying way.

"I wouldn't know. Is there something going around?" Cologne asked. If there was a bug in the air, it would be good to warn her deliverers about it so they wouldn't catch it or spread it around. Bad for business.

"Yeah, it's hitting campus hard, and from what I heard it's not just in Nerima. Seems like all of Japan's getting under the weather." The young man answered, picking up some ramen with his chopsticks and chewing it, though Cologne could tell he was forcing himself. "I thought I was healthy enough to still go out. Guess I called that one wrong." He tried to chuckled, but only coughed some more.

"Yes you did." Cologne remarked before going back to the kitchen to tend to the stack of dishes that needed washing.

 _'Heh, while he should have stayed home, that boy reminds me of how back in my day the boys would write me love letters. I wonder when kids stopped doing that, I'm sure my daughter at least had a few suitors. I know when I was young, I got more than just battle proposals. The boys wanted to charm me before they impressed me. Heck, even a few girls tried that. Ah, the good old days, when people actually cared about romance.'_

Just then an idea came to the Amazon elder. One that made her smile and chuckle softly under her breathe.

"I'm back." Mousse announced as he returned from his deliveries, using the back entrance.

"Ah good, tidy up the main room, then you can have a break before we get into the evening rush." Cologne directed.

When he left to do this task, the old woman quickly began going over her current idea, as well as how to get her great-granddaughter to participate in it.

 _'Hmm... maybe this once, I should keep Shampoo out of the details.'_ She thought. _'The closest that Shampoo came to securing her husband was back when the Reversal Jewel was influencing her. She came so close to getting what she wanted, all because for once she didn't even know there was a plan. In fact, had it not been for that confounded Mousse giving the jewel to Akane, Shampoo would have been on her honeymoon already and back home, likely expecting her first child by now.'_

Cologne had to pause for a moment to avoid getting angry. _'Yes, perhaps it's best that Shampoo doesn't know what I'm doing. If things go right, those two kids will come together on their own and therefore it will mean more to them. And if things go wrong, I have little doubt that I'd lose a good deal of Shampoo's trust. It's just a chance I need to be willing to take.'_

With a confident smile on her face, Cologne finished up washing the dishes and went about gathering the supplies she'd need to set her plans in motion.

* * *

It didn't take long for Shampoo to return to human form and get redressed. When she did she immediately jumped out the window of the second story room and landed on the roof of the neighboring building. Jumping from roof to roof, she soon enough made it back to the Tendo dojo, landing back where she left her clothes.

"I knew you'd come back."

She turned and saw Ranma emerge from around the corner, arms crossed and looking a little irritated. "What were you doing around here anyway? And don't say you weren't already here."

Normally the violette girl would be cheerful and try to embrace her airen regardless of his mood, but right now she looked like smiling wasn't worth it. "Nothing." was all she said in response.

Ranma blinked and arched an eyebrow, not expecting this kind of reaction from her. "No girl would just leave her clothes behind like that for nothing. What were you doing?"

Shampoo sighed and stood up, folding her clothes. "Not bothering you. Also, tell Kasumi that Shampoo sorry for today." Before he could say more, she jumped off and roof-hopped away.

Akane came around, giving Ranma an annoyed but not angry look. "What's going on back here?"

"I have no idea." Ranma replied, the confusion in his voice enough to placate her.

"Well don't stall. We got to get that medicine for Kasumi." Akane said, tugging on his arm trying to make him follow her.

Grateful that Akane hadn't seen anything, Ranma followed, though he kept his eyes peeled for anything. _'Wait, sorry for today? Is Shampoo the reason Kasumi got attacked?'_

His confusion was soon replaced with anger.

* * *

"What is troubling you child?" Cologne asked when the restaurant was closed. At the moment Shampoo was watching tv, the current program nothing unusual for them to watch, but throughout the day Shampoo had barely said a word to any of them. She hadn't even reacted to Mousse's usual antics, which scared even him.

"No want talk about it." She answered.

"You didn't really think I'd take that for an answer did you?" Cologne asked. "If you don't want to talk about it, would you mind if I suggest another way?"

"What way?" Shampoo asked, sounding like she wasn't interested.

"Write down what's bothering you."

The teenager simply gave the elderly woman a confused look.

"I know it sounds pointless, but it will help. There's a reason people use diaries as a way to organize their thoughts after all. Write down what's bothering you, why it's bothering you, and what you think would best solve the problem. This way you finally get it off your chest but you get to keep your privacy at the same time. Not to mention you might figure out a few things along the way."

"It still seem pointless." Shampoo said.

"At least give it a try. If it doesn't work, you're no worse off than you are now are you?"

"Suppose so."

Cologne smiled. "Excellent. Also, make sure to write in Japanese."

"Why Great-grandmother?"

"The extra effort will force you to focus more, and ensure that you write the important stuff in the simplest way without rambling. The point of this is to get to the root of the problem, not to complain about anything and everything."

Shampoo slowly nodded. "Alright Great-grandmother." She then went upstairs to her room.

Cologne kept her smirk even after her student left. _'It begins.'_

Little did she know that something indeed was beginning, and it was already too late to stop.

* * *

"We're home." Akane announced when she and Ranma came home from school the following Monday.

"Welcome back." They heard Kasumi call back, though she sounded a little tired despite it being the afternoon.

Akane went towards the kitchen, seeing Nodoka help the oldest Tendo daughter work on the dishes. Kasumi wobbled a little and leaned on the counter for support with her good arm.

"Are you under the weather Kasumi?" Akane asked.

When Kasumi had gotten home the family almost went ballistic with hearing she got hurt. They took her to the hospital for a check-up and a doctor had cleaned the wound before giving her a simple inoculation. However it seems since then Kasumi was only getting worse little by little each day.

"I'm okay, I can work with this. It's more annoying than anythi-" She started, having to stop to cough.

"I think you need a different kind of medicine." Ranma recommended. "Maybe you're allergic to the kind they gave you?"

"That's actually very possible," Nodoka agreed. "Can I see the wound dear?"

Kasumi slowly unwrapped the bandages, and everyone had wide eyes to see that the wound looked rather infected.

"That's really gross." Akane said, covering her mouth out of fear of nausea.

Nodoka quickly rewrapped the bandages on the oldest Tendo daughter, then reached for a purse and pulled out some yen. "Here, get her some more disinfectant."

Akane took the cash and nodded. _'I sure wish Dr. Tofu was in town. He'd know what she needs.'_

Practically a year ago Tofu had to leave town, a sign on his old clinic telling everyone that he had to go away for a special project and had no guaranteed date of return. So far he still had not come back, and many of his old patients were suspecting he wasn't going to.

"Be careful out there." Kasumi warned. "I think a lot of people in town are sick too. I wonder if more dogs are out biting people like me."

"You worry about yourself for now dear." Nodoka advised.

"C'mon Ranma." Akane said, heading back out the door. He followed of course and they went to the shopping district Kasumi usually frequented.

* * *

The rest of the day went normally, with the only change being that Nodoka and Akane stepped in to do Kasumi's chores. Everyone was concerned for the housekeeper since she seemed active but lethargic, like she had plenty of energy but no desire to do anything with it. She also had a lack of an appetite, eating just the fish included with dinner and not touching the rest.

Not wanting to catch whatever was bothering her, and have a repeat of the last time he was sick in the Tendo house, Ranma chose to partake in some evening exercise, primarily a long jog around the neighborhood. But his health wasn't the only thing on his mind.

 _'Dammit, why is this still on my mind? Shampoo hasn't come back, nothing happened, so what if she looked a little sad when I saw her? She hasn't exactly made me happy lately. And she got Kasumi hurt. Kasumi of all people.'_

He hadn't seen the violette Amazon since Sunday, yet his mind kept coming back to her. Part of it was out of paranoia, usually when something like this happened, something much worse was practically guaranteed to follow. The fact that it hadn't happened yet hadn't pacified him. He was convinced the Amazons were up to something, he just didn't know what.

And since no answer was coming to him, Ranma had to do something to keep himself busy. And since this was him, this was no ordinary jog. He had two fifty-pound weights strapped to each of his ankles and a pair swinging from his wrists like nunchaku. The added two-hundred pounds of extra weight would've normally been child's play for him to lug around. However, he was alternating running on both his feet and then switching to his hands with each lap around the neighborhood.

Ranma had long since lost track of how long he'd been doing this exercise, but he paid such minor details no heed. All that did matter was keeping in shape and being prepared for the Amazons next move.

 _'What if they're not planning something?'_ He briefly asked himself. _'What if Shampoo is simply in a funk?Naw, that couldn't be right. Shampoo wouldn't get disheartened over something. Not for too long at least…right?'_

Rounding a corner, the pigtailed martial artist found himself on a familiar street. Up ahead he could faintly see a bridge in the quarter moon's weak light and the sunset's remaining hue. It was the bridge that he and Akane always crossed over on their way to school. And, if his eyes weren't fooling him, there was an all-too-familiar figure standing on the bridge's railing, clearly waiting for his arrival.

 _'Great, someone I didn't want to see.'_ He mentally groaned since he was out of breath physically, then flipped over to stand up on his feet this time _. 'Might as well get this over with and see what she wants, since she'll just come to me if I don't.'_

"Good evening, Son-in-Law," Cologne said as he cautiously approached. "A bit late for a jog, wouldn't you say?"

"What do you want, Old Ghoul?"

After the customary whack for his disrespect, she sat down on the railing. "Is there something distressing you, Ranma? I've seen the types of workout you and your father prefer, and I'd have thought that such a mundane exercise as this would've been far beneath you at this point."

"Just because it's mundane doesn't mean it's still not good training." He countered immediately, maybe slightly defensively. "What do you want? I'm kind of busy at the moment."

Nodding with easy acceptance, Cologne dug into the sleeves of her robe. "Yes, I can tell, and I will surely be noticed missing if I delay this much longer. Son-in-law, I have something to give you. Something of an extremely delicate nature and you are to not discuss or mention it to anyone. If you do, I promise you, Son-in-Law or not, I will hunt you down and kill you like a rabid dog."

"What is it?" Ranma asked, instantly curious and wary. "It's not one of your little tricks again, is it?"

Rather than chuckle, as she normally would've at such a blunt accusation, Cologne leveled a very fierce gaze upon the teenager. "No, it is not." She then withdrew a blank white envelop from her sleeve, holding it up for Ranma to see easier in the faint moonlight. "This is from Shampoo."

"What, like a love letter?" Ranma scoffed indignantly, disbelieving and annoyed in equal measures. Was the old ghoul running out of ideas at this point?

"Perhaps, perhaps not." Cologne conceded. "I have not read its contents. That privilege belongs to you."

"Not interested." Ranma stated, turning to continue his run.

"You saw her not that long ago, didn't you?" Cologne said, freezing the youth in his tracks inadvertently and confirming her suspicion that he had seen her. "You knew something was wrong, but you didn't know what. Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"No," Ranma said, though there was a heavy layer of uncertainty in his tone. Of course he was curious; no matter how much he may have fought and screamed in denial, the simple truth was that he was. "No, I'm not, not at all."

"While this is speculation, I feel confident in guessing that the clues, if not the answer, is written here in Shampoo's letter." Cologne said, holding out the letter once again as Ranma reluctantly faced her. "All that I'm asking of you, Ranma, is to read it. Perhaps you'll have a better understanding of my great-granddaughter's recent depression."

"Depression?" Ranma repeated, unsure he correctly heard the old lady's words. "Shampoo's feeling depressed about something? Is that why she-?"

Cologne cut off his questions by merely raising the envelop ever-so-slightly higher and waving it a bit, as if to say 'What's taking you so long?'.

After a moment of debating with himself over whether he should take the offered letter or not, a sudden thought entered his mind. "Does she know you're giving me this? The Shampoo I know wouldn't want such things like this to get out."

There was a very serious gaze that filled Cologne's eyes. "That is why I'm telling you to never discuss what you read within with anyone else, __ever__. She's been coming back to the Nekohanten in tears more often than usual lately, so I tasked her with writing her feelings down as a way of soul-cleansing. Putting into writing what she's struggling to put into words. So I am, in essence, betraying her trust by giving this to you. For if what is written inside here gets discovered and becomes known, she will know immediately who were responsible, us two. And I trust that you don't wish to have Shampoo re-invoking her Kiss of Death on you again, do you?"

Despite himself, Ranma visibly shuddered at the still-potent memories of a violette Amazon relentlessly chasing after him and his father throughout China and Nerima. Those were times he __didn't__ want to go back to, ever.

Returning his attention to the letter that Cologne was patiently holding out to him, Ranma slowly and hesitantly reached out for it. Even without the chained iron weighing his arm down, it was a very difficult act for Ranma to lift his hand and try to take hold of the letter.

Just as his fingers closed upon the envelop, Cologne gave it a short jerk, snapping his attention back to her. "Burn this letter immediately after you finish reading it, Ranma. If nothing else, it would be an act of kindness towards a young girl whose ignorance we're taking advantage of."

With that final statement, Cologne released the letter into Ranma's care and quickly pogoed her way back to her restaurant with all due haste. _'Good, part two is done.'_ She thought. _'Now all I have to do is watch and wait for Son-in-law's reaction. Knowing him, he'll eventually need a guiding prod. And when the time comes, a little more than that.'_

* * *

As it became night, the figure sitting crouched upon a high street lamp would've been easily missed to those still on the streets. Not that many would look up anyway.

Deciding to not return to the dojo for the moment since he wouldn't get any privacy there for sure, Ranma had leapt up the pole for a bit of security. From his position upon the pole of the street lamp and facing away from the light shining beneath him, no one could sneak up and peek over his shoulder to read what was in his hands, not even Happosai or Cologne could accomplish that feat.

Clutched in his hands were the pages of Shampoo's written efforts. If what Cologne said was true and Shampoo really hadn't written this with the knowledge that Ranma would be reading it soon, then he really couldn't believe his luck. Shampoo had written all __fourteen__ pages of the letter in Japanese, not Chinese, so he was easily able to read it. Well, to a point. There was little illumination to be had at the moment, what with the light under him and the moon only a fraction of it's full size. He had to hold each sheet practically over the street light just to see what was actually on it.

 _'Might as well see what's in here.'_ Ranma told himself, checking out the first page.

It started out sort of like a letter to no one in particular, like she was trying to describe something to an unnamed penpal. But it soon became more like a diary entry of her early life and how she'd grown up. Like she was still trying to figure out where she was trying to start this. It also was written sort of like how she spoke, but thankfully due to being around Shampoo for the better part of a year he was able to decipher what she was actually trying to say.

She described her young childhood as mostly being ruled by obligation. She lived under expectations that in retrospect felt harshly high, all because she was the descendant of the mighty Cologne, and selected almost immediately to take her place. Why her but not anyone else in the family, she had no idea, but she guessed it was because her great-grandmother had no intention of stepping down for several more years, so by the time she did Shampoo would be the best age to replace her.

 _'Well that makes sense now that I see it.'_ Ranma thought.

As a result, the majority of Shampoo's childhood was essentially preparation for her selected role in the village. Sure she did play around, back during a time when Mousse was a legitimate playmate, though eventually he lost interest in playing with her and turned his attention to getting her to date him. She admits she might have considered him if he hadn't been so vain and shortsighted when he tried it, making a fool of himself yet acting like she should be flattered he considered her good enough for him. To an Amazon, that was insultingly chauvinistic.

' _So that's why she won't give Mousse a chance. He's like her version of Kuno.'_ Ranma thought, having occasionally hoped that Shampoo would lose interest in him and go for Mousse instead. With this though, that seemed very unlikely. And in this context, he honestly couldn't blame her for not wanting it.

Despite a less-than-fun childhood, Shampoo had thought it was going to be worth it. She poured her heart into her training for as long as she could remember, and after so much struggle finally became the village champion. With this, she could finally be something other than Cologne's great-granddaughter. She could show everyone that she was a formidable fighter and a leader in her own right. Not just a younger version of Cologne that so many other girls in Joketsuzoku thought she was. She would finally be respected for her own talents, not just her bloodline.

Until a redheaded stranger came to town, knocked her on her ass, and made her look like a child.

 _'I didn't think I hurt her pride that much.'_ Ranma thought, remembering that event. Though what he remembered best was the part where Shampoo gave him the Kiss of Death.

Shampoo's pseudo-diary explained, in a surprising amount of detail, just how extensive that one defeat had dishonored her in the eyes of her tribe and in her own eyes. Just how incredibly angry she had been, not necessarily at Ranma, but more at herself for apparently allowing herself to stagnate. She had thought she had gotten strong, but she had been beaten so easily. Where did she go wrong? To redeem herself, she had taken to hunting the redhead with a passion that would've made many in her tribe proud.

Along the way she had done something she never expected to do. She found the love of her life. Granted, she hadn't fallen in love with him on sight or even when he had defeated her so easily. However, it was that act of beating her with only one hit that had gotten her attention. That was when she stopped hating herself for losing to the redhead. Maybe she hadn't stagnated, maybe there were people outside the village who were just as devoted to their training as she was. If so, this man was like a kindred spirit, someone who valued the art as much as her and wanted to do something with it. The concern he showed when she was down also showed that he had a good heart under his loud, gruff exterior. That was why she had no objection to giving him the Kiss of Marriage.

But, for some reason that she just couldn't understand, he seemed to be helplessly loyal to the violent girl he lived with. A girl who hit and yelled at him for the smallest of things. Why was he so committed to a girl who was not only inferior to his level of martial arts, but was clearly jealous of him for being so superior and had a ludicrously short temper? It would be one thing if Ranma was trying to make Akane feel bad, physically or emotionally, but from what Shampoo saw, the pigtailed martial artist practically jumped through hoops to make the youngest Tendo happy.

 _'That's harsh.'_ Ranma thought. _'She doesn't see everything, she can't judge Akane just on this.'_

As time went on, Shampoo tried to settle down in Nerima, find out more about Ranma and in the process Akane too. Ranma was just as dedicated to the art as she had suspected, always striving to improve, never letting an obstacle keep him down for long. There had been times he disappointed her, but his will to get better and help others as he did so gave her an insight into who he really was. A man who cared about others and valued what was right more than what was easy.

 _'I... have to admit I'm flattered. Man I wish Akane would say something like that about me.'_ He thought, smiling a bit.

However, Shampoo was far less impressed by what she saw in Akane. To her, it was disgraceful that someone who was going to inherit a dojo, a place that existed solely for the benefit of improving in martial arts, was so abysmal. Sure she wasn't unskilled, but no one else in Nerima had a dojo yet they still had reached incredible levels and accomplished great feats. What was Akane's excuse for being so lackluster by comparison?

Yet somehow, Akane had gotten what Shampoo couldn't. An intense amount of loyalty from him, to the point where he didn't even want to consider his other fiancees an option. He was convinced he was honor-bound to marry the Tendo girl, and he had his father and Akane's father breathing down his neck if he showed so much of a sliver of awareness that Akane wasn't the only female on the planet. This meant the only chance Shampoo had to get his attention was by surprise, sex appeal, and the occasional trick. It was a complete struggle for her just to get him to look at her, while the girl who had his attention acted like he repulsed her. Until she actually risked losing him that is.

As he continued reading, Ranma couldn't help but wince. If this was to be believed, then her depression was because he was hurting her with his neglect of her feelings. While many would call him callous and insensitive, which he admitted to a point he was, Ranma never actually tried to break someone's heart and one of the lessons his father had beaten into him was to never hurt a girl, no matter what. And apparently he had been doing that, without even knowing it.

 _'So Shampoo's depressed... because I'm ignoring her?'_ He asked himself. _'No, that can't be it. Shampoo's like me, more bubbly but still she can take a little heartache and not let it get her down.'_

Despite that, he couldn't convince himself that there was no problem and he had nothing to do about it. The simple truth was, Shampoo was hurting and it was entirely his fault. Regardless of his feelings for the girl, he needed to make it up to her. He would never be able to live with himself if he knew he was making someone miserable. It was one thing when the other person was the cause of their own problem, but it was different when _he_ was the cause.

But how could he fix this? If he tried anything, she'd see it as him finally starting to take an interest in her. And with him trying to get things to work with Akane in the wake of the failed wedding, that was the last thing he wanted to do. Ranma was, again, finding himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

What could he do?

* * *

Friday came, and something was bothering Ranma.

That much was obvious, even to Nodoka and the two fathers. Ranma wasn't putting as much focus during his morning training with his father as he usually did. He was still fighting back and dodging, but he seemed to be mostly going through the motions rather than giving it his all. Genma, ever opportunistic, was all too eager to capitalize on his son's distraction. He'd either dodge his son's incoming attack or deliver a strong counterattack of his own, often smacking Ranma straight into the dirt.

From what Nodoka could see through the kitchen window, Genma wasn't missing a beat and Ranma was suffering for it. If she didn't know any better, she'd think her son wasn't that strong or manly. It sure looked that way when her husband dropped like a lead weight from above her son to throw him off then kicked him into the koi pond.

"Aw, is my son getting distracted?" Genma yelled mockingly at the quickly resurfacing redhead. Despite his indignation at his son's apparent lack of focus, Genma couldn't stop himself from laughing heartily at his son's expense. At least until a small wave splashed over him, followed by a 'light' boulder that had formerly been resting on the edge of the pond.

"Now who's distracted, old man?" Ranma growled dangerously at the soaked panda before her.

' _ _Show respect to your betters, boy!__ ' Genma's sign declared while he growled and charged forward, attempted to whack his now-daughter upside the head with said sign.

Easily dancing out of the panda's reach, Ranma bounced forward and kicked out, striking the panda in its chin. "When I finally meet them, maybe I will!" Genma had no immediate reply to that retort as he was sent careening through the air and crashed down by the wall surrounding the property. Straightening herself up out her stance, Ranma muttered quietly to herself. "I'm not distracted, just hungry. Yes, I'm just hungry."

"Breakfast is ready, everyone!" Nodoka called out as she moved into the dining room with a large tray of food. Upon hearing the meal call, both Genma and Ranma abandoned their duel to rush forward and quickly take the offered kettle of hot water. Toweling themselves dry real quick, they joined the rest of the Tendo family at the table and eagerly awaited the food that was to come. It seemed that whatever had been distracting Ranma earlier was now partially forgotten at the sight of the approaching meal.

"Where's Kasumi?" Ranma asked, not seeing the oldest Tendo daughter at the table with them.

"She's getting worse." Nodoka answered, having gone back into the kitchen for some soup. "She can't even get out of bed right now."

"Think she might have the flu?" Nabiki asked. "A few in school are coming down with the flu. It wouldn't be that surprising for her to have caught it in the market before she got bitten. For a while I thought Kuno had the bug, but he instead got one of his sister's poisons on his food by mistake and couldn't move for a day after that."

"As long as he's not there I'm good with it." Akane muttered.

"Son, are you coming down with something?" Nodoka asked.

"I feel fine. Why?"

"I got the feeling you weren't at your best in your spar. If you were sick that would explain it. I'd hate to think you weren't taking your training seriously."

"I'm fine." Ranma repeated, this time a little defensive. He really didn't want to bring up the fact he was thinking about the problem with Shampoo. If he did, he'd be kissing the sky in a matter of seconds.

"What about you No-chan?" Genma asked his wife. "You've been tending to Kasumi the most, have you been making sure you don't catch what she has?"

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, I feel fine."

* * *

School went normally despite to a number of sick students and teachers. Ranma was relieved that Ukyo wasn't under the weather. With all her customers she was considerably at risk. When it ended, Akane went off with Sayuri to pay a visit to Yuka who was sick at home, leaving Ranma a chance to do something on his own. He decided to casually walk along some fences for extra balance training but he had no destination in mind.

 _'Alright, what are my options? I_ _ _suppose I could always spy on them. With the Umisenken, that'd be a piece of cake… if only I could__ **use** _ _it, stupid panda.__ _' He rued for a bit._

Sighing heavily, Ranma came to a momentary stop on the fence and looked off in the direction that he knew the Nekohanten was in. As far as he could tell, Shampoo's letter had been as genuine and sincere as her desire to marry him. If there was ever one thing he could always count on Shampoo for, it was being extremely driven to get whatever she wanted. Unfortunately, more often than not, this usually pertained to getting Ranma to marry her. With that being the case, Ranma could easily read between the lines to see Shampoo's written confessions were completely truthful, with a typical Shampoo-flair that mirrored her personality as distinctively as her fighting style. So he could tell that she had genuinely written that letter from the heart. It hadn't been faked by Cologne. But was Cologne telling him the truth when she said that Shampoo hadn't known of the letter's future destination into her Airen's hands?

A familiar jingling bell and an even more familiar cry of "Nihao, Ranma!" tore the pigtailed martial artist from his thoughts. Spinning around, Ranma saw the Chinese Amazon on her bike with a delivery box strapped to the back, parked below him on the street. She looked up at him and tried to smile, though her eyes were uncertain.

"Hi Shampoo." He said with a wave, not sure what to do when she greeted him without a glomp. "What are you doing here? Delivering ramen again?"

"Yes." She answered plainly. "Airen no happy to see Shampoo?"

"No, I mean yes." He answered, stumbling with his words a bit due to old habits. "But while you're here... actually, how about you meet me back at the Nekohanten when you're done with your delivery?"

Shampoo blinked, then smiled sincerely and nodded. "Yes, Shampoo do that. Thank you Airen."

"Don't mention it." He replied.

"See you soon Airen." Shampoo said happily, then went back to riding her bike, now with more gusto.

With her gone, Ranma exhaled deeply. _'Might as well take the direct approach. Trying to fish for information just doesn't sound like it would work for me. I'm no Nabiki after all, thank Kami-sama.'_

* * *

"Kasumi?" Nabiki knocked on her sister's bedroom door when she got home from school. "You awake?"

"Nabi... ki...?"

"That doesn't sound good." Nabiki said softly as she opened the door. There on her bed was a pale and sweating Kasumi, cold compress on her forehead and a spilled water glass on her floor. Judging by the stain, it had been spilled a while ago and was already drying. "You sound like it hurts to speak."

"It's... a bit rough... I'm having... a hard time... focusing my eyes... too... light... hurts..."

Nabiki picked up the empty glass. "Want a refill?"

"Something... that will help... me stay asleep... if you don't mind... and maybe... talk to me... for a bit... to help me... do that." Kasumi wheezed.

"Alright, I'll get you some sleep-aids. If we're not out."

Kasumi smiled. "Thanks..." She then coughed some more, covering her mouth with her blanket, and when she was done, she leaned back and closed her eyes, looking more pained than asleep.

Nabiki's eyes widened in horror when she saw bits of blood on the blanket.

* * *

"Wow Yuka, you look terrible." Akane said to her friend, her and Sayuri seated around the girl's bed.

"Yeah, I can tell." The schoolgirl answered, gingerly eyeing what Akane hoped wasn't a bucket for vomit. The room did have a bit of a putrid smell to it, like rotting meat, but Akane didn't want to be rude and point it out.

"How long have you had this?" Akane asked, remembering seeing Yuka in class not that long ago.

"About three days. Why?"

"My sister's down, but she got bitten a week ago and we think she's dealing with this flu and an infection at the same time. Why are you getting sicker faster than her?"

"I hear sometimes that happens." Sayuri pointed out. "For some people things like the flu just hit them faster and harder."

"Did anyone catch the license plate of the flu that hit me?" Yuka joked, making the other two chuckle. Yuka tried to as well, but after a bit she had to grab the bucket and of course puke into it. And as grossed out as they were, Akane and Sayuri couldn't avoid catching a glimpse.

"Wait, was that...?" Sayuri asked, then came over and peered into the bucket, gasping quickly. "Dear lord, it is. It's... blood."

"Blood?" Akane asked, then looked in, seeing a small pool of red. Horrified, she looked at Yuka. "You need to get to a doctor Yuka!"

"I can barely stand up." Yuka protested, wiping her mouth.

Akane got to her feet. "You're vomiting blood. This is no ordinary flu. I'll carry you if I have to."

"No, you can't." Yuka insisted. "Three days ago, this guy in a store next to me coughed up some blood before I knew it and he got some of it on me. If you carry me, I'll get blood on you too and we'll both have it."

"Change your clothes, wash your hands and face, and wear a mask. I should be fine then, and if you even think you have to puke, let me know so I can put you down." Akane declared, that look in her eyes saying she wouldn't take no for an answer there.

"You really do need this Yuka." Sayuri added.

Yuka sighed and drooped her head. "Alright, thanks guys. You're the best."

* * *

Back with Kasumi, she was sipping some water to help swallow some sedative pills while Nabiki sat by her bed.

"Kasumi, I think we really should get you to the hospital. This is not normal. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you had rabies." Nabiki stated.

Rabies was virtually nonexistent in Japan these days, hence why they hadn't considering it an option before. It was about as likely to get rabies in Japan as one could get polio in America.

"I'm fine... just need a few... more days..."

Nabiki shook her head. "Didn't Mom say the same thing?"

Kasumi just wheezed wordlessly at the mentioning of their dead mother. "You know... we can't afford it..."

"I'd rather deal with the bill than you getting worse." The mercenary confessed. "You're the heart of this family Kasumi. I can't imagine what would happen to us if anything serious happened to you."

Kasumi smiled and laid her head on her pillow. "I think... pills are... kicking... in..." Her voice was fainter and her breathing was slower, but her eyes fluttered closed and for the first time she actually looked peaceful to her sister.

"Get well soon Kasumi." Nabiki whispered, briefly staying there a bit longer. She couldn't hear Kasumi breathing, but at least she wasn't coughing.

Satisfied, the mercenary got up as quietly as she could and walked out. When she reached the doorknob, she heard a loud, strained gasp from her sister. Sounding like she was surfacing from a long time underwater while having a dry throat.

"You okay Kasum...?" She started, but silenced herself and gasped in shock when she saw her sister. Kasumi was still on her bed under her covers, but she was reaching out with one hand, looking right at Nabiki with faded eyes and blood dripping out of her open mouth.


	2. Decay of Social Order

_Chapter 2-Decay of Social Order_

"Kasumi? Kasumi what are you doing?" Nabiki asked, getting scared.

Kasumi tried to crawl out of bed rather than get out the normal way. This naturally made her upper body plop on the floor before she pushed herself up, and kept crawling slowly. Nabiki backed away out the door and against the hall, eyes locked on her sister.

"Kasumi, this isn't funny."

The housekeeper merely kept making those animalistic growls, like a sick predator wanting food. And she crawled more, slowly, like her limbs had lost coordination. But she was making progress, getting closer to the door.

On impulse Nabiki reached forward and closed the door. She looked for a lock, only to realize how stupid that was. Who would put a lock on a bedroom door on the outside?

"Somebody get here now!" Nabiki called out, hearing her sister banging against the door. With her hand or her head, Nabiki wasn't sure. "Something is very wrong with Kasumi!"

Rushing footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs, with Nodoka and Soun appearing just as quickly. Though for some reason Nodoka acted slightly out of breath.

"What's wrong with Kasumi?" Soun asked, tears already decorating his cheeks.

"I have no idea. But it's bad."

Nodoka reached for the door handle, hearing banging from the other side as well. Slowly she opened it, just enough to peek inside. Kasumi's hand lashed out, grabbing part of her kimono under the belt. Nodoka backed away quickly, Kasumi not having enough to secure a good enough grip.

"Kasumi?" Nodoka asked, seeing the aforementioned girl use her arm to push the door open. Kasumi was on her hands and knees now and trying to force her way out the door. Nodoka pushed her arm back and closed the door. "What's the matter with her?"

"I have no idea, but she really needs a doctor." Nabiki replied.

* * *

Back at school Kuno was practicing with the kendo club outside by the front of the school, where he felt most comfortable showing his skills. He led the exercises with his fellow club members mimicking his motions, some better than others. Then, a couple of them stopped.

"Why have you stopped?" Kuno asked, then looked in the same direction everyone was looking. By the entry gate to Furinkan, there was someone slowly and awkwardly walking towards them, like they had a hard time balancing themselves, and was constantly holding their arms above them as if to fend off the sunlight. After a bit they collapsed and rolled over towards a tree, relieved to be in the shade.

Kuno and the others came up to this person, gasping when they got a closer look. The person was covered in bites and bleeding profusely, bits of their clothes missing as well. It was also a student, probably coming this way just to get to safety.

"Take this man to the nurse's office!" Kuno ordered, and two club members obeyed, picking him up.

"Wait..." The victim wheezed out. "Get... somewhere... safe..." He warned before he was carried off.

"I see more coming." Another club member pointed out, gesturing to a few more students slowly heading their way with similar behavior.

"Be ready to help them everyone." Kuno told them.

The students got closer and the kendo club went to approach them, but closer look made them hesitate. These other students were bleeding as well, but the bite marks on them were more severe. One had their whole left shoulder ripped open, and another was crawling because there didn't seem to be enough flesh left on their legs to let them stand.

 _'How are these poor souls not in agony?'_ Kuno asked himself. _'And why do their bites look... human in origin?'_

One of the kendo club members tried to approach a girl that had blood dripping out her mouth and a missing ear with some skin and hair by it gone too. "Is there some kind of wild animal out there attacking-?" He started, only for the girl to get in close and chomp down on the space between his neck and right shoulder.

Other kendoists rushed in to try and pull her off, but the other injured students came in and attacked as well.

"What is going on here?" Hinako, in her child form, came out seeing a fight. "Stop fighting!" She held up her five yen coin and did her ki absorption, turning into an adult. However, the fighting didn't stop. The kendo club members collapsed, but the already injured students were completely unaffected and actually ripped off pieces of flesh to devour.

"They're eating each other." One of the club members who wasn't in the fray said with disgusted horror, standing beside Kuno and the others who didn't get in close enough.

"I said stop!" Hinako repeated, holding her hands together and creating a ki blast that she fired. It hit the students like a harsh projectile, the kind she always used that were meant to stop a fight with just one blast. When the bodies went still, it looked like it had worked.

Until they got back up and made this strange shrills that sounded like a hiss and a screech at the same time.

"I hate those that don't learn the first time." Hinako, back in kid form, tried to absorb their ki again. But this time, she got nothing, making her eyes go wide. "What? That's impossible. You can't have no ki for me to take."

The sickly students started coming towards her, their squinting eyes locked on her. Sweating in fear, she tried to absorb their ki again, and got the same results. Not having any other tricks up her sleeves, she ran away screaming and waving her arms with the sick following her.

Kuno and the remaining kendo club members gathered up their injured and too drained to scream clubmates, and took them inside the school to the nurse's office.

"Everyone, head home. And be careful how you get there." He ordered. No one was in any mood to refuse.

* * *

 _'Airen wants to talk to me.'_ Shampoo thought happily as she rode her bike back to the Nekohanten, her delivery finished. She could hear some shouting and yelling in the distance, but she ignored it. With this being Nerima that wasn't exactly uncommon background noise.

 _'Wonder what he want talk about. He seem so... strange.'_ She thought, turning a corner and having to come to a quick stop.

Up ahead she saw two complete strangers, an adult man and woman, involved in a fight, and judging from the bloodstains on their shirts and collars it was anything but the normal kind of fight in Nerima. Some people were trying to stop the fight while others were staying back.

 _'What this about?'_ She asked herself, surprised to see some non-martial artists fighting in the streets. It was clear from their movements they were not trained for combat, that and more made it clear that this wasn't really something she had any business interfering with.

That was until the woman bit the man at the collar like a vampire. Bit hard enough that blood was visible even from a distance in just a few seconds. The man screamed, and so did some of the onlookers.

Shampoo was so surprised she briefly lost balance on her bike and had to catch herself from falling to the sidewalk. It had been a while since she had seen a fight that resulted in bloodshed. Even the worst of Ranma's fights never went that direction.

Whether it was her business or not no longer mattered, Shampoo had a responsibility to stop this before it went even further. She got off her bike and rushed forward, while a few others who were being brave tried to pry the man and woman apart too. They weren't having any luck, but fortunately Shampoo's strength made it possible.

"Are you alright?" Someone asked the man once he was freed.

"She bit me! Do you think I'm alright?!" He yelled back, pressing his hands on his wound to stop the bleeding. "What's her problem anyway?"

Shampoo looked to the woman who was wobbling a bit and trying to close the gap. There were blood stains on her blouse and all over her mouth, likely none of it hers. Her hands were reaching out and her eyes were blank, almost like she was blind.

"What wrong with you?" Shampoo asked, shielding the injured man as others ushered him away to get him to a hospital.

The woman came at her like an animal and Shampoo reacted by instinct in dodging and throwing a punch, though since the woman wasn't a combatant the Amazon withheld her strength and aimed for a shoulder. It was enough to at least make her stumble back. More so than expected, she completely lost balance and fell on the pavement.

Shampoo and several others still there jolted when they heard the sound of bone breaking upon impact.

"Did she just _kill_ that woman?" An onlooker asked.

"She must have been more frail than she looked." Another onlooker commented.

The purple-haired girl immediately knelt down to check the woman. "Please speak. Shampoo sorry do that. What broken?" She helped turn the woman on her back, and one of the woman's hands grabbed her hairlocks, the only part of the Amazon she could reach. She pulled Shampoo down and made biting motions, like the purple-haired girl was going to be her next victim. Shampoo pulled back, and had to grab the woman's hands to try and break free, pulling up the woman in the process.

When she did, it became apparent that the woman's neck was at a painful angle, yet she was ignoring it. Some blood was even dripping out of her left ear. Despite all that, she didn't seem to even notice. The only thing she did seem to notice was Shampoo, who was still trying to free her hair, and the woman was still trying to bite into the Amazon.

Pressing her foot into the woman's abdomen to keep her at a distance, Shampoo strained against the volatile woman with surprising difficulty. The unidentified woman was pulling hard enough that the teen girl could feel her hair getting ripped out of her head bit by bit. After a few seconds, Shampoo pulled her head back and broke free, letting the hair be ripped out by the roots. She immediately exclaiming her pain and pressing her hand on the sore skin. The deranged woman ignored the hairlock in her hand and tried to reach for the teenage girl again, but Shampoo backflipped away. The woman was having a hard time getting back up, but how she moved at all with an obviously broken neck was strange in it of itself.

"I no can handle this." Shampoo muttered to herself, getting back on her bike and rushing back home, trying to ignore her throbbing head.

* * *

"Just hold on there Yuka." Akane said as she carried her friend who was groaning like she was about to throw up. Motion sickness combined with whatever disease she had was not good, but right now they had no other choice.

"Are you sure this is the way to the hospital?" Sayuri asked, keeping an eye on her friend.

"Ranma once had to go there, I'm sure I remember the way there." Akane replied.

A scream made them stop and look around. From one of the buildings out ran several screaming people, running like what you'd expect people in horror movies to do.

"What the heck's going on?" Sayuri asked, getting closer to Akane since her friend would be better at handling any problem that came up.

Akane had to set Yuka down with Sayuri's help. If any trouble was going to come, Akane needed to be mobile. Yuka coughed some more blood and wheezed very weakly, but when she was on the ground she seemed more comfortable and slipped into silence. Akane looked at the building, seeing it was a street pharmacy, and saw someone come out, this time not running.

"Hey, doesn't he look like Yuka?" Sayuri asked. It was a man who was looking rather pale, making the blood on his clothes and face all the more apparent. He looked around like he wasn't sure what to look at, and held onto the door frame for support.

"Maybe he's got what she's got." Akane suggested, feeling it was rhetorical to do so.

Sayuri glanced back at her friend, expecting her to be either passed out or showing some kind of pain. She saw Yuka struggling to get on her feet, looking worn out since her limbs shook and her head hung like her neck couldn't support it.

"Don't push yourself Yuka." Sayuri said, coming over to assist her friend. When she put her hand on the girl's shoulder, Yuka looked up and Sayuri gasped. Her eyes were fogged over, not exactly like she was blind, but definitely not natural. "Yuka?"

The aforementioned girl lashed out her left hand and grabbed Sayuri's hair. Sayuri naturally tried to get free, but Yuka leaned in quickly and chomped down on where her neck met her shoulder. Sayuri screamed in agony and tried to shove her friend off her, but she could only feel the teeth digging in.

"Sayuri?" Akane asked, her friend's scream getting her attention, and she was horrified to see what was going on. She had seen a lot of attacks in her time as a martial artist, but never a bite like this.

"Akane, get her off me!" Sayuri pleaded, struggling to break free. She only got free when Yuka tore a chunk of flesh off her, and began chewing it, though her friend refused to let her go.

Akane broke out of her shock and rushed forward. "Yuka what are you doing?" She asked as she grabbed her friend and pulled her back. Being the stronger one, Akane succeeded, though Yuka's fingers left good scratches on Sayuri. Akane then pinned Yuka down and then slapped her, not in an angry way but more of a 'Snap out of it' way.

All this did was make Yuka snarl and try to grab onto Akane for something to bite. Akane had to back away.

"What happened to-?" Akane started, but was cut off by Sayuri screaming again. Turning around she saw the other sick person, the one who had been coming out of the pharmacy just a moment ago, clutching onto her friend and digging his teeth into her right arm. She tried pulling free and punching back, but with the injuries she's already taken Sayuri just couldn't do much. She looked like she wanted to pass out from bloodloss if nothing else.

Akane came in and threw a punch at the man's face, hearing the sound of a snapping jaw as she did so. This shocked her and made her tremble a bit. "I... I didn't... that never happened before."

The sick man had to let go of Sayuri, who dropped to her knees and clutched her arm. But he looked to Akane, and despite a broken jaw and some teeth falling out he still looked dangerous to her. Behind her Akane could hear Yuka getting back on her feet and making raspy sounds, like she was choking on something.

"C'mon Sayuri." Akane said, grabbing her friend and running off with her trying to keep up. Yuka and the sick man slowly tried to follow, like their feet were asleep or something.

"What... about... Yuka?" Sayuri asked, feeling herself get tired very fast.

"There's nothing we can do. We have to get you to the hospital now."

"Don't bother... I'm a goner... we both... know it..." Sayuri choked out.

"Don't say that. You can still be helped." Akane protested.

"Akane... I can't... it's getting cold... please... leave me... save... yourse..." She passed out before she could finish.

The youngest Tendo came to a stop and set her friend down, wanting to see if she could patch her up and stop the bleeding. Maybe that would save her. But looking at Sayuri, she had to admit her friend's odds of living were low. The space between her neck and shoulder was torn open and one of her arm bones was visible. Akane checked for a pulse, and found none.

Then Sayuri's eyes opened, already fading, and she let out an inhuman shrill that made Akane jump back.

"No... not you too." Akane said, shaking with fear. She saw her friend try to rise up, spitting out some blood as she did. Another shrill caught her attention, and she saw a girl wearing the uniform of Kodachi's school lumbering closer, pale and bleeding and missing a whole arm. Behind her were Yuka and the man that came out of the pharmacy, with all three heading her way.

 _'I'm sorry Sayuri.'_ Akane thought before running off as fast as she could, wishing she could jump from roof to roof like the others could.

* * *

"I wish I worked in a more peaceful district." The Furinkan school nurse said to herself as she worked to administer help to the students that were still there despite the school day being over. Members of the kendo club had been brought in, with witnesses claiming that other injured students had tried to eat them. The injuries certainly matched that, but no one could explain why.

"I still can't get the phones to work." One of the teachers who was still here, a man named Toshigi who taught one of the classes Ranma and Akane took, said to the nurse as she wrapped bandages on the last injured student.

"Damn. These boys should be in a hospital, not here." The nurse said. "At least they're being quiet."

"They're still breathing, right?" Toshigi asked, not seeing any chests rising or falling to implicate they were.

Concerned, the nurse leaned in and put her ear on the chest of a student. She heard a barely audible heartbeat. "They're still alive, but..." She couldn't finish, not sure what to say.

"I'll try again." Toshigi said, getting out of the office to find another phone.

In the hall he saw Hinako run, followed by the sickly students and passing one of the custodians. Said custodian barely had time to react before the students ambushed him instead and proceeded to devour him.

"What the hell?" He said to himself, backing into the nurse's office. When he did, he heard a scream and saw one of the boys biting her hand like he was trying to rip it off, clawing at her face with his free hands. Another boy slowly rose from his bed, making a weird hissing shrill.

"I'm outta here." Toshigi said before he made a run for it.

* * *

Ranma sat at a booth in the Nekohanten waiting for the purple-haired girl to return. At the same time he was waiting for someone else to go away.

"If you're going to be here Saotome you might as well order something." Mousse told him, a hint of a hiss to his words.

Ranma shrugged. "Can you promise you wouldn't tamper with it if I did?"

Mousse sneered. "Do you really think I'd sink so low as to potentially poison you?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Let's see, there was that time you were more than happy to attack me when I was at my weakest. There was the whole Mask of Weakness thing. There was that time you and Ryoga both stabbed me in the back when we were dealing with Herb's gang. There was the time you were willing to curse Akane and a crowd of innocent people to turn into ducks just to spite me. Hell, I think the only time you and I were ever on the same side was when we were fighting Pantyhose Taro. So can you blame me for thinking you're not above doing something like spitting in my ramen? Or worse?"

Mousse growled lowly in his throat, but other than that he did nothing.

The door chimed opened and both boys saw Shampoo rush in. To their surprise, she immediately closed the door and locked it, looking out the window as if she was worried she had been followed.

"Shampoo, what has you acting so worried?" Mousse asked, not expected to see her act like this.

"Something wrong, too too wrong out there." She replied.

From outside, sirens could suddenly be heard blaring. The kind of sirens that told people to seek shelter and brace themselves for trouble.

"What is going on here?" Cologne asked, coming from the back. She and a few other employees had been trying to work on the food for the customers already there.

"People die outside." Shampoo answered.

"Die? How? What did you see?" Ranma asked, getting worried. He had only ever heard sirens like that when an earthquake happened as a kid and he saw a building collapse later on.

"I saw... woman try eat man." Shampoo answered slowly, as if still in denial about it. "I saw woman break neck, and still walk."

Both teenage boys and the elderly Amazon were speechless.

"There more than one. I saw more on way here. People... eating each other. So much blood. It chaos out there."

"People are eating each other?" Ranma repeated. "What, like in a zombie movie or something?"

Shampoo nodded. "Yes, just like that. But real."

"But how? Zombies aren't real." Mousse questioned, adjusting his glasses.

"Mousse can tell them that." Shampoo muttered.

"What's this about zombies?" One of the customers asked, not paying attention but hearing the word.

"There are no zombies outside." Cologne stated.

"Yes there are Great-grandmother. I fought one myself. It rip out my hair." Shampoo argued, showing her missing front hairlock and a trickle of dried blood on her cheek from where it was torn out.

"Let's go take a look. I mean, whatever is out there, it can't be a bunch of walking brain-eating dead guys right?" Ranma offered.

"For once Saotome I hope you're right." Mousse commented.

"Fine, go ahead. I'll stay here and mind the store." Cologne said, sounding like she wanted to include 'Someone has to' in there somewhere.

With hesitation, Shampoo opened the door.

* * *

"Please, you have to help us!"

"Welcome to Ucchan Okonomiyaki, what can we get for you?"

Ukyo poked her head out from the supply closet, seeing Konatsu at the counter greet an obviously terrified woman holding her young child close to her.

"I'm not here for food! You got to help us! People outside are killing each other!"

"What are you talking about?" Ukyo asked, coming closer.

"Look outside if you want to know!" The woman stated, trying to soothe her crying son. Thanks to some banners and signs the front windows weren't exactly the best way to see outside the store.

"I'll do it." Konatsu offered, jumping over the counter and poking his head out the door, looking left and right. Almost just as quick he came back in, shaking a bit, and locked the door.

"See what I mean?" The woman asked.

The gender-confused kunoichi could only nod, then looked to his employer. "Miss Ukyo, we should barricade the store."

"How bad is it?" She asked.

There was a frantic pounding on the door. "Help! For the love of Kami-sama let us in!"

Konatsu opened the door, and four more people poured in. Two male adults, a female student of Furinkan that Ukyo didn't recognize, and a young boy that stayed close to the girl. Konatsu closed the door and locked it again.

"What is going on out there?" Ukyo asked.

Everyone ignored her in favor of barricading the store. Chairs, stools, anything they could grab they shoved in front of the door and windows. Konatsu went into the back and grabbed some of the lumber they kept around for repairs and got to work boarding up the ways in.

"Konatsu, what is out there?" Ukyo asked.

"Miss Ukyo, maybe you should go upstairs and look. I don't know how to describe what I saw."

Not liking this, she nodded and went up to the residential portion of the shop. Going into her bedroom, she looked out the window, and saw rioting in the streets, with people attacking each other. Blood was all over the streets. Someone held in their hand a bottle with a burning rag sticking out of the top and threw it at a cluster of slow moving people. It exploded upon impact and they along with the building across the street from Ukyo's shop caught fire.

"What is going on?"

Not having any better ideas, she went back downstairs and grabbed the phone, dialing for help.

"This is a recording. You have reached the 110 emergency line. All lines are currently busy, please stay on the line or call back later."

"Seriously?" She asked, then the recording repeated itself. She hung up.

"Is help coming?" One of those taking shelter in her restaurant asked.

Ukyo's depressed look said it all.

"Sis, I'm scared." The young boy said while crying. The schoolgirl knelt down and hugged him protectively.

One of the men leaned against the counter. "Damn, I never needed a smoke more in my life."

"Everyone just stay calm. How long can this last?" Ukyo told everyone.

* * *

"I don't hear anymore banging." Genma said, standing by the stairs. The others were seated at the dining table, none of them looking comfortable.

"What is wrong with my Kasumi?" Soun asked, tears pouring down his face like faucets.

"I can't get ahold of any doctors. The phone lines are jammed. It's like everyone in town is on the phone at once." Nodoka added.

"Judging from the ruckus outside, I'd say some kind of big fight is going on out there." Nabiki noted, hearing a lot of shouting and some cars crashing but nothing distinguishable. To be honest it really didn't sound any different than one of the bigger fights Ranma and others could get into.

"Do you think Kasumi's flu is causing some kind of brain damage?" Genma asked. "Is that even possible?"

A shattering sound was heard upstairs.

"What was that?" Nabiki asked, jumping to her feet. Soun and Nodoka were quick to follow.

"It sounded like..." Genma paused for a moment, looking like he just realized something he should have realized sooner. "...glass."

The other three connected the dots too and went outside, quickly seeing shards of glass in the grass. Looking up, they saw Kasumi struggling to get out of her broken window, looking like she could fall at any moment.

"Kasumi! Please stay inside! You're not well!" Soun shouted, though he got in position if he needed to catch her.

His oldest child ignored him and continued out, making strange noises in the process. They were a sort of pained growl, like a predator that was injuring itself. After a bit she was able to tumble onto the roof, but she slipped before she could catch her footing and rolled towards the edge.

"Kasumi!" Everyone shouted, moving to catch her, including Nabiki. Kasumi tumbled and came down, caught by Soun and Genma more than anyone. Genma caught the upper half of Kasumi while Soun caught her legs.

"You okay Kasumi?" Soun asked, looking over her. For a brief moment he saw her clothes ripped open in random spots and bleeding cuts with some large pieces of glass sticking out of her skin. When that brief moment ended, Kasumi snarled and lashed out, trying to grab at or even bite anyone.

"Yow!" Genma yelled, dropping Kasumi and letting her head hit the ground with a loud clunk. He clutched his upper right arm. "She nearly ripped my skin off with her nails!"

"How could you drop her like that?!" Soun yelled, setting down her flailing legs.

"I just told you, she attacked me!" Genma yelled back, moving his hand. Kasumi's nails had ripped open his sleeve and there was some redness on his skin. No cuts, but the fact that she could get him this bad said a lot.

"Kasumi doesn't attack-whoa!" Nabiki argued, only to halt when her older sister moved to try and bite Genma's leg. The bald man jumped back. "Somebody subdue her. I don't know what's wrong but she's only going to hurt herself here."

"And us." Genma added, moving to pin down the housekeeper's arms while Nodoka went to look for some rope.

"Kasumi would never try to hurt us." Nabiki protested.

"What do you think she's trying to do right now? Hug us?" Genma asked.

Nabiki looked at her sister, seeing her struggle to get free and growl inhumanly. Her eyes were so dull, almost lifeless, and there was still blood coming out of her mouth like she had an open sore inside. The glass shards in her body were being taken out by Soun, resulting in Kasumi's body being blood-covered too.

"I don't know what's wrong with her, but there has to be a way to fix it. With everything that's happened to us, there's always been a way to fix things. We just need a clue." Nabiki said.

* * *

 _'Whoa, this is the worst thing I've seen since... I can't even think of an analogy for this.'_ Happosai thought as he sat perched on the edge of a roof looking over the chaos in the streets, his bag of stolen underwear safely next to him.

"Someone help me!"

He looked below him, seeing a panicked young girl pressing her back against the building, with another girl getting in and grabbing her arms, effectively pinning her.

 _'Now's a good opportunity.'_ Happosai thought, jumping down onto the assaulting girl then squirming onto her front, squeezing her breasts. He knew this would stop her and effectively give the other girl a chance to run, though his main priority was getting a little extra ki from a young woman.

The glomped woman was surprised and struggled for a bit as most women would, releasing her prey who ran off immediately. In that time Happosai's eyes widened.

 _'No ki... none at all. She's empty. And cold.'_

Her hand managed to find his neck and wrap around it. She tugged, but Happosai kept his grip. She tried to bite down, her teeth dangerously close to ripping off some of the skin on his scalp. He released her and tried to soothe his scalp, but she did not release him. Instead she grabbed him with both hands and tried to bite him again. He squirmed enough that she just barely missed biting off his left ear.

With effort, Happosai freed an arm and got out a firework. "Happo Fire Burst!" Igniting it with his ki, he threw it at her, and it exploded in her face. The shockwave pushed them both apart, with Happosai crashing into the wall of the building before sliding to the ground. The worst of the blast was darkened skin and some burns.

The woman however was flailing on the ground covering her eyes, as if acid had been thrown in them. Ignoring this, Happosai climbed back up the building back to his bag of treasures. He grabbed them and dashed off.

* * *

"Away you heathens! You have no business here at the house of Kuno!" Tatewaki declared as he used his bokken to fend off the sickly that had followed him home. Behind him were dozens of people that he had corralled into coming to his home, offering them security in the brink of this disaster.

The downside was while the gates were holding up, some of the more determined maniacs were trying to scramble over the walls. In the backyard Kodachi's pet alligator was getting frantic, like it was hoping one of them would be lucky enough to get in.

One of the sick got close to getting over, only to be hit in the forehead by a blunted kunai, making them fall backwards and off the wall.

"Good work Sasuke." Tatewaki praised, grateful to be supported by his family's helper.

"Brother, I'm not sure what defenses we can bring outside." Kodachi said, standing by her brother. She coughed a bit, still under the effects of her cold but willing to defend her home. She threw a few of her bouquets over the wall, resulting in some poison gas clouds covering the sick. But to her surprise there was no effect except for the paralysis gas.

"As long as you can make them remain still we have time." He told her.

"Master Kuno, Mistress Kodachi, should we alert your father?" Sasuke asked, standing ready to keep fighting beside them.

Tatewaki frowned. "Knowing him, he's unaware anything is going on. And even if he was, he'd be of the opinion that a haircut would put a stop to these poor souls. No Sasuke, he is no priority right now."

"What do you think is causing this brother?" Kodachi asked.

"This reeks of dark magic. Saotome must be responsible, he is turning Nerima into a hell on earth."

"My darling Ranma is not responsible for this, brother." Kodachi argued.

"I don't care who's responsible for this, as long as it doesn't kill us." Sasuke interjected, throwing some more blunted weapons at some sickly people trying to get over the wall again.

"Sasuke is right, for now we must focus on keeping the threat at bay." Tatewaki said, then got up to the gate when a bunch of shrieking people were trying to tear it down barehanded. He thrust the bokken at them in between the bars, at best shoving them back.

"Master Kuno, perhaps we should get inside the house and use the lockdown features before any of them do manage to get over the wall?" Sasuke asked when the kendoist pulled back, unwilling to use deadly forced against civilians that were clearly suffering.

"A good idea Sasuke. Fortunately there are enough provisions to keep us well for two weeks."

"But what of those we gave sanctuary to?" Sasuke reminded him. "That will reduce it down to days."

"Then we must evict them at once." Kodachi claimed before getting back into the house.

"Kodachi no!" Tatewaki protested, following her, with Sasuke following him.

* * *

The screams Akane heard as she ran down the streets would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life. People everywhere were running in any direction, trying to get home or the nearest shelter. The sickly people with bleeding mouths and open wounds were chasing after them, dragging those they caught into the shadows. One that was dressed as your typical salaryman tried to attack Akane, but a swing from her trusty mallet saved her life.

 _'What is happening? It's like all hell is literally breaking loose.'_ She thought, looking around herself but refusing to stay still. Staying still had only gotten people killed.

"Someone helped me!" She heard down in an alley, and peaked around the corner since the voice was familiar. She saw her math teacher, a man named Toshigi, trying to defend himself against three unrecognized sick people using a metal pipe as a weapon. He showed no signs of injury, but he wouldn't last long unless he got help.

Akane didn't react immediately, her eyes briefly locked onto one of those ganging up on her teacher. _'His torso, it's missing a whole side. I can see his organs trying to fall out. How is that man still standing?'_

The man in question made a swinging grab for Toshigi, who blocked with the pipe. In that moment the two other sick people pounced at his unprotected side. The teacher swung the pipe back, hitting one of them in the eye and just barely keeping the other from grabbing him.

Akane snapped out of her panic and came charging. "Hold on Toshigi-sensei!" Her shout got the attention of the sick people and she hit the closest one to her with her mallet, resulting in a domino effect and sending all three into the air.

Toshigi sighed in relief but kept a tight hold on his pipe. "Tha... thank you Tendo."

"What's going on Sensei? Why are people acting like this? They're... it's like they're not human anymore."

The teacher tried to straighten himself out, look professional again for his student. "I... I don't think they are human anymore. I think... they're the living dead."

"You mean... zombies?" Akane croaked. She had seen a lot over the past year. Ghosts, giant animals, body-snatching dolls, but this was too much.

Toshigi put his hand on her shoulder. "Get home Tendo, find your family and get somewhere safe. Stay away from the school, it's happening there too. Whatever you do, don't let these things get to you."

Akane could only nod. "But what about you?"

"My house isn't far from here, don't worry about me. Get home."

Akane nodded again and ran off, keeping her mallet out and ready.

* * *

"Ryoga, what's going on?" Akari asked as she and Ryoga saw rioting in the streets from atop her giant pig. They had just gotten to Nerima, hearing the sirens blaring, and saw people running and others attacking the runners.

"I don't know, this is nothing like what usually happens here." Ryoga replied, used to seeing a crowd chasing Ranma. Not a crowd chasing everyone else.

Katsunishiki, the giant pig, looked like he wanted to get out of here, but Akari asked her ride to stay a bit longer. "What do we do? We still need my grandpa's medicine."

"We can try." Ryoga said, not certain if the drugstore she needed to get to still had anyone in it right now.

With trepidation, Katsunishiki continued on, careful to avoid the panicked people. The air was getting thick with the smell of blood and death, making the large porcine uncomfortable. If that wasn't enough, up ahead there was a pillar of smoke billowing, like a building had caught on fire.

"There it is." Akari said, pointing when a pharmacy came into sight. But Katsunishiki was afraid to get closer. The scent of blood was overwhelming, even the two teens could smell it. "Wait, are those people eating something off the ground?"

Ryoga leaned in for a better look, seeing some people were hunched over, covered in blood on the front, and indeed eating something. Not only that, but there was a dog covered in blood trying to do the same.

"Stay here, I'll see if I can get the medicine for you." He told his for-lack-of-a-better-term girlfriend, who nodded fearfully. She gave him the prescription and he slipped off the giant pig, careful to make as little noise as possible. Every instinct in his body told him being unnoticed was the best thing he could be right now.

He opened the door to the pharmacy and went in, smelling spilled medicine more than anything. Evidence of a fight breaking out at a counter was clear, and he could hear some muffled breathing.

"Is someone here?" He called out.

"Quiet, don't let them hear you." He heard someone answer quietly, frightened.

"What happened here?" He asked, trying to find whoever was hiding.

"That man, he tried to kill me. Please tell me he's gone."

"There's no one here but me." Ryoga assured.

Slowly, a click was heard and a door opened, revealing a man dressed in white with messy hair. He looked at Ryoga with cold eyes. "I don't see any blood on you."

"Good. Does it matter?" Ryoga asked, confused.

"The man who tried to kill me, he started coughing up blood before he went crazy."

Ryoga was feeling uncomfortable. "Here, I need some of this." He handed the man who he assumed working here the prescription.

The pharmacist reluctantly took it, looked it over, and found the requested medicine. "Here, but I'm only doing this because I haven't left yet. But now that the coast is clear, I'm outta here. You should get home too."

Ryoga pocketed the bottle. "Thanks." He went back out, and saw that the people outside were still eating whatever meat they found on the street, but each of them was looking at Katsunishiki. Like a wolf that already had a catch but could see something else worth hunting. Or at least, they were trying to, the sickly people were consistently squinting and covering their eyes from the sun despite it not being too bright.

With Akari's help he got back on the pig's back. "We better get back."

Akari nodded. "I don't like the looks everyone is giving Katsunishiki."

"I don't like the looks they're giving _us_."

* * *

"Whoa, this is a nightmare!" Ranma exclaimed, seeing the streets of Nerima after walking away from the Nekohanten. Most people had already left the area, but some were still there. Those who remained were knelt down in the street devouring other people like sushi at a bar. Multiple people dug in and ate from a single victim, like a pack of wolves dining on a deer.

"They... they really are zombies." Mousse said, checking to make sure his glasses were still on.

"How could this happen?" Shampoo asked, sticking close to Ranma and holding onto his arm for comfort. For once he did not refuse her.

"Those sirens..." Mousse noted, his ears bothered by the nonstop wail.

"We can't stay here." Ranma stated. "If people are acting like zombies, then we have to get as far away from here as possible."

"Why am I not surprised you want to run away Saotome?" Mousse sneered.

"Don't say that like you don't want to do it too Mousse." Ranma replied, looking at the myopic boy. "For all we know this whole area is about to get torched by soldiers or locked away so no one, dead or alive, can get out. Don't you think getting out while we can is a good idea?"

"Something's coming." Shampoo interjected, which got the two boys to look around and get back on guard since right now something coming was not a good idea. They couldn't hear anything other than the sirens and the chewing of the zombies, but they could feel the ground tremble a tiny bit.

Turning around a corner Ranma saw a giant pig. "I know that pig." He said before heading towards it, seeing two riders. Shampoo and Mousse followed him. "Hey, Akari?" He waved his hand to get better noticed.

Katsunishiki came to a stop. "Ranma, is that you?" Ryoga asked, dropping off the large swine.

"Ryoga? Ah good you're alright."

"Of course I'm alright why wouldn't I be?"

"Ranma, what is going on?" Akari asked, sliding down and getting off her companion.

"I know how this sounds, but it's like zombies are here." He answered.

Akari squeaked, paled, and covered her mouth. "Z-z-zombies?"

"No time for jokes Ranma, what's really going on?" Ryoga protested.

"Oh you think I'm joking? Look behind me Ryoga and tell me what you see." Ranma replied, pointing behind himself.

Ryoga glanced over his rival's shoulders, seeing some people kneeling down and two coming their way. "I saw people like that earlier. Why do you think they're zombies?"

"Because they eat people and no feel pain." Shampoo answered. "I broke neck of one and they still walk."

"Umm guys?" Akari spoke up, pointing behind them.

Immediately Ranma and the two Amazons turned around, seeing two Furinkan students, a boy and a girl, that didn't look completely alive anymore lumber towards them. Ranma actually recognized these two, not enough to know their names but they both had been in his class. The boy had made perverted comments about what he'd do to Ranma's female form if he could ever overpower her, and the girl had always looked at Ranma like he shouldn't have been there. Now both of them looked like the walking dead, with blood on their clothes and bite marks on their mangled necks. The boy was even missing his left hand, replaced by a bleeding stump.

Right away Shampoo jumped forward and hit the girl with one of her chui, knocking her on the ground. Mousse waved his arms and chains flew out, entangling the boy and making him collapse.

"Good job guys." Ranma thought, looking at his hands for a moment. _'I don't think these guys are legit zombies, but if they can act like that, then how can I fight back? Wouldn't fighting barehanded be the worst idea? I have to find a weapon and quickly. A sword, a pole, anything.'_

Thinking about his lack of a weapon made him remember there were others who also would lack a means to defend themselves.

"I have to check on my parents and the Tendos!" He declared loudly.

"Akane!" Ryoga yelled, worried for his first crush.

No words needed to be said, everyone headed towards the Tendo dojo as fast as they could.

* * *

"The phones are still busy. Even 110 can't help us." Soun said to those gathered in his house. He looked outside, where Kasumi remained tied up. With all her squirming and trying to bite, they couldn't bring her back into her room, not that it would have done much good with the window broken. Nor could they bind her fully to a tree. All they could do was use a rope to keep her confined to a limited area like a dog on a leash and wait and see if she tired herself out.

"Why is she by the tree?" Nodoka asked, seeing the oldest daughter of the family looking at them but staying by the base of the tree in the yard instead of on the walkway where they had left her. It was a fortunate thing that she didn't appear to be making an effort to untie or cut the ropes, almost like she didn't know how to anymore.

"I don't know, but it's better than her trying to break her way in." Genma said.

"This is bad." Nabiki said, looking at her laptop. She had brought it downstairs and immediately started looking for any hints as to what was afflicting her sister.

"What is it Nabiki?" Soun asked, waterworks on standby.

"The internet's going haywire with reports and videos of people going crazy all over the world. It says that almost everywhere, people are acting like Kasumi and mauling anyone they can get their hands on."

"Why is the internet working but not the phone?" Nodoka asked, unfamiliar with the technology.

"My guess is the mainframes are still doing their jobs, but look at this."

She clicked on a video, and everyone could see people running away in public streets in an unidentified Japanese town, with the recorder trying to get a good shot of a teenage girl missing half the flesh on her face eating the guts of a downed salaryman. Someone threw a rock at her and tried to start a fire with a torch, but it wouldn't work, so the schoolgirl zombie lunged at him and chomped down on his jugular.

"My Kami-sama!" Nodoka said, horrified and covering her mouth. She then made gagging noises like she wanted to puke, and rushed into the kitchen where everyone could hear her doing just that.

The video continued and showing the schoolgirl zombie eating her new prey, but then the first victim, the salaryman with his inner cavity exposed to the world, began to get up, making a sound like a scream and a hiss at the same time.

 _'That sound.'_ Nabiki thought, remembering the shrill that Kasumi made not too long ago. She glanced outside, but tore her eyes away. ' _No, it's not possible. Not Kasumi, anyone but Kasumi!'_

The video ended and she went to another site, showing other sick people going wild, but Nabiki ignored it and backtracked. Other sites mentioned severe rioting, people breaking into stores to get supplies and weapons. Property being intentionally set on fire to try and kill off the infected. Prisons practically becoming morgues with how quick the death toll rose inside. Hospitals not too far off when people went feral within.

"C'mon someone has to have an idea how to cure this."

"Does Kasumi want to...?" Genma started, but couldn't bring himself to finish, as he looked at the aforementioned girl struggle to break free.

"No!" Nabiki proclaimed fiercely, as if denying something offensive. "That is my sister out there and none of that stuff is happening to her! She's just sick and needs a cure! She is _not_ one of those things!"

"But what if...?" Again, Genma couldn't finish.

Nabiki gave him a harsh almost unforgiving glare. "She is _not_ one of those things. Period." She then went back to her computer, desperate to find out something that could save her sister.


	3. Worse Than Death

Chapter 3-Worse Than Death

"A notion to all employees, we are experiencing an outbreak!" A voice boomed over a speaker within a building. "Reports are coming in from all over Tokyo of signs of full stage infection, and it appears to be happening close to the other facilities as well."

One person in the building didn't like the sound of that. _'Were we breached?'_

"Containment no longer seems like a viable solution. Spread of the Virus and Infected appears imminent. All prior approved personnel are allowed to vacate premises and go to any of the designated safe zones to begin work there. Those that wish to bring civilian loved ones, you will be granted 24 hours to bring them to the safe zone and have them tested for infection. All others... may Kami-sama have mercy on their souls."

The intercom went silent, and it was only professional behavior that kept the occupants of the building from going into a panic.

A man in glasses threw off his white coat and ran down a hall. _'I need to get to them! They deserve a chance to get out of this alive!'_

* * *

Hinako closed one of the classroom doors behind her and slumped against it, gasping for breath. This particular classroom was a lab reserved for chemistry work, doubling as the meeting place for the chemistry club. Behind her, she could hear more of the zombies trying to get in after her.

"What is happening? I've never seen my skills fail before. How can they have no ki to absorb?"

A bang against the door made her pause for a moment. But she really got scared when the door handle jiggle and start to go down. Reacting right away, she grabbed it and held it still with all her might.

 _'How long until they find someone else to go after?'_ She asked herself, knowing she couldn't keep them out forever. She glanced at one of the windows, hoping if she needed to, she could get one opened in time.

* * *

"How there be so many?" Shampoo asked as the group took a turn to avoid some more zombies. Right now the streets were mostly cleared of normal people, leaving the living dead free access to roam.

"What's causing this in the first place?" Akari asked, still clinging close to Ryoga for security.

"Whatever it is, we can fix it. Just like everything else we've faced." Ranma stated.

"Ranma, you can't fix zombies. All you can do is avoid or kill them." Akari countered.

Ranma frowned at the pig-loving girl. "We don't know for sure what's going on so I'm not killing anyone! Besides, zombies are supposed to be fake, not real! This is just... I don't know, but they can't be dead people!"

"No need to get so worked up Ranma." Ryoga said defensively. "But what if they are real?"

"I don't want to think about it." The pigtailed boy claimed. _'Akane came back to life and it was a great thing. How can zombies be possible if something like that can happen too?'_

Up ahead a woman who looked to be around Nodoka's age came from around a corner screaming while a few zombies chased after her. She saw the teens and giant pig, and headed their way.

"Please help me!" She shouted, then tripped and fell on her face, giving one of the zombies time to catch up.

Right away Ranma, Ryoga, Shampoo, and Mousse rushed to her. Shampoo did a jump kick and hit the zombie first, knocking it off the woman. Ranma grabbed her and pulled her away from the others. Mousse and Ryoga did what they could to keep the other zombies back.

"You're okay now. Get somewhere safe." Ranma told the woman, who looked like she could barely stand up anymore. She nearly collapsed on the pavement so he had to reposition himself to support her, and his hands felt something warm and wet under her arms.

"No..." He said, hoping it was not what he thought it was. But he moved his hand so he could see it, and saw it was covered in fresh blood. "Please tell me this isn't yours."

Her eyes fluttered open, looking hurt more than tired. "One of them got me, but they weren't going to... stop with that. They were going to... eat me..." She paused to cough. "Or turn me into one of them."

"C'mon Ranma, let's go!" Ryoga said, grabbing his friend's arm and tugging.

Ranma scooped up the woman on instinct and ran off, with the others running alongside.

"Please, if you want to... help me, kill me." The woman pleaded.

"I'm not going to kill you." He told her.

"You know what those things are. Zombies are real, and I'm about... to become one." Little bits of blood starting to leak out of her mouth. "Please, kill me before that happens."

"It's just a flesh wound. You can get to a hospital and get it taken care off. You won't become a zombie." Ranma protested, not wanting to believe that this was going to happen. Whatever was happening here may have been making people act like zombies, but they couldn't be genuine walking corpses... could they?

The woman coughed, accidentally getting some blood on Ranma's already red shirt, then weakly grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Promise me... that if I become one... of those things, you'll kill me. Don't... let me exist... as..."

Her eyes closed and her body went limp, her grasp failing. Ranma came to a halt, horrified to see that someone just literally died in his arms.

Shampoo saw he had stopped and backtracked. "Airen what wrong?"

"She's... she's dead." He answered, too stunned to let her down. Shampoo came forward and helped grab the body, snapping him out of his shock and allowing them both to set her down.

"What happened?" Ryoga asked, he and the others coming back too.

"She's dead."

"Do you think she'll become..." Akari asked, trembling a bit.

"If she does, then we have undeniable real zombies in town." Mousse stated.

For once, Ranma was hoping someone stayed dead.

That hope was crushed when her pale eyes opened and her mouth opened in a bleeding gape, arms reaching out to grab anyone had they not been fast enough to escape.

"She was dead, for sure dead." Ranma muttered. "It's... it's true, we have real zombies here."

The sound of his voice must have attracted the zombie, for she started moving towards him. She was still on the ground so he had plenty of time and room to avoid her. Ryoga came forward and pinned her down with his umbrella.

"Thanks Ryoga." Ranma said.

The woman struggled to break free and tried to tear at Ryoga's calves. She ripped the pants legs which made him jump back, unintentionally letting her free. The others however went to focus on Ryoga.

"She didn't draw blood did she? That's one way this thing spreads in the movies." Mousse said as the lost boy pulled up his pant leg.

Everyone looked and saw no scratches or marking of any kind on his skin.

"Looks like she just ripped the cloth." He remarked.

The woman from before shrilled and inadvertently alerted them before she could slash at them, doing no worse than ripping their clothes. They jumped away and brought out their weapons again, save for Ranma.

"How we kill these things?" Shampoo asked.

"They're zombies, they're already dead." Ryoga stated.

"No, usually you just have to get them in the head with a lethal blow. That works in the movies, it's worth a try here." Mousse suggested.

No one could say they had a better idea.

Mousse went first, throwing a kunai at the woman's face. It hit her between the eyes and went in enough that the tip had to be touching the brain if not digging into it. She stumbled and shook her head, as if by reflex than any actual pain, but kept coming towards them.

"Well that didn't work." Shampoo groaned. Ryoga took the opportunity to get by Akari and make her feel safer. The zombie came closer and Shampo and Mousse attacked her with chui and clubs.

"Ranma are you just going to stand there?" Ryoga asked, seeing Ranma watch more than anything. This was not like him at all, it was as if Ranma didn't have a clue on how to act right now.

"She asked me to kill her if she became like this." He said softly, like it was hard to admit.

"So why aren't you doing that?" Akari asked.

"I can't kill someone! Not on purpose like this! But I don't know what else I can do right now!" He protested, feeling rather insecure. It was kind of like when he had lost his strength, only now his strength just wasn't what could help. You couldn't beat the undead with brute force, and if you tried you only put yourself at danger.

Akari frowned, not accepting his response. "Ranma look at her. She's already dead, in fact she's worse than dead. She's a monster. Killing her is an act of mercy and a way to make sure others don't suffer the same fate. Are you really going to let more people turn into these things just to have some kind of moral high ground?"

"But-"

"Every person she bites and turns into a zombie will suffer because you didn't kill her now while you had the chance!" The pig enthusiastic proclaimed bluntly.

Ranma gulped and looked back to the woman who had died in his arms. Images of her biting his friends, turning them into zombies coming after him and other people he knew, and the people they bit becoming zombies too, spreading out until all of Japan was nothing more than a walking graveyard, all flashed before his eyes. Was he going to let that happen just to avoid intentionally repeating what he unintentionally did to Saffron?

The memory of the woman's last request came to him. _"Promise me... that if I become one... of those things, you'll kill me. Don't... let me exist... as..."_

Ranma closed his eyes and clenched his fists, as if fighting himself. He knew what he had to do, what the right thing to do was, but sadly that didn't make it much easier.

 _'Make it quick, let her rest in peace.'_

He opened his eyes and looked at the woman again, seeing Shampoo and Mousse fight her but holding back. He knew they were, and he knew why. Martial artists, the good ones at least, know when to hold back their full strength and not just fling it around. That was why so many of them here could break bricks yet never actually broke anyone's bones or ruptured their opponents organs. They could if they wanted to, but they withheld themselves.

That would not work here.

With a deep breath but no words, the pigtailed aquatransexual rushed forward and pulled back his fist, darting in between the two Amazons. He threw a punch, putting all his strength into it, the kind he would need to knock Pantyhose Taro unconscious if he had to, and make contact with the right side of her head. Upon impact, her head exploded like a red water balloon, spraying blood and gore everywhere behind her.

"Holy crap!" Mousse exclaimed, he and Shampoo pulling back in surprise.

Ranma stood in place as the headless body collapsed, hopefully to stay down this time. After a few moments, he looked at his blood-covered fist like it was some kind of dangerous unknown animal now. He also began to hyperventilate, and frantically tried to wipe the blood off.

Coming up from behind, Shampoo wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Not one of her traditional glomps, but a more calming act of reassurance. "Airen, it okay. You do right thing."

"I know, but that doesn't make it any easier to live with." He said, his breathing slowing. He glanced to Ryoga and Mousse out of the corners of his eyes, expecting them to blow up at him receiving this kind of attention from Shampoo. Fortunately, they weren't. Maybe it was due to the situation, or they both accepted that he needed this to calm down, but either way Ranma was grateful.

Akari came up towards him. "Ranma, I'm not a fighter like you or Ryoga are. I'm a normal person, like everyone else. And like everyone else, I'm defenseless here. You can fight back, we can only run and hide. We're counting on people like you to protect us... or save us if we turn into one of those."

"Akari no!" Ryoga protested in horror, having a good idea what she was hinting at.

Akari looked to her boyfriend/penpal and nodded. "Yes Ryoga. If I become one of these, I want one of you to do that to me too. The dead should be at peace, not hunting us like wolves."

Ryoga grabbed her gently by the shoulders. "Don't talk like that Akari. You're not going to die."

"Then do what you can to make sure it doesn't happen." She replied, as much to Ranma as to Ryoga.

The pigtailed martial artist sighed then nodded. "You're right Akari. We can't cure them, all we can do is just put them out of their misery."

"Like a rabid dog." Mousse added.

Ranma looked around, seeing no zombies in the area but the city looked as dead as the zombies. Not to mention the blaring sirens were getting annoying. "We have to get out of here. I need to get to my parents and the Tendos. Shampoo, Mousse, can you get the old ghoul?"

"You want us to separate? No way Saotome. Zombies are deadliest when they have the advantage of numbers. Being in a group can only help us." Mousse argued.

"Alright then, first to the Tendos then back to the Nekohanten. Then to Ucchans, and from there we get out of Nerima."

"My home is far from the city. It's the best place to go for the time being." Akari offered.

The others nodded, liking the idea of a haven away from the chaos. Without saying anything, they headed towards the Tendo dojo, Ranma unknowingly taking the lead.

* * *

"Okay, where am I going to go next?" Toshigi asked himself inside his apartment. He had made it there safely, having to rely on effective dodging and beating the zombies back with a discarded pipe, but he made it. Problem was there were zombies inside the apartment building too, and most of them were aware that he was there. And he didn't want to count on a locked door keeping him safe forever.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed a bag he kept for the school's overnight trips, few as they were, and stuffed it with spare clothes and food while keeping his pipe at hand. "A car or train would be my best way as far from here, but I don't have a car and can't rely on the trains right now. They may be infested with these things as well. What can get me away from here...?"

An idea came to him, and it made him smile. Without another word, he opened one of the windows and looked down, seeing nothing but a stray dog looking for food. Using the fire exit, he started to go down, then at a safe distance dropped to the ground.

Upon impact the dog looked his way, and right away he could see it was not right. It showed no signs of injury or deformation, but it's eyes were blank and blood was dripping from its muzzle. It growled and jumped towards the math teacher, who defended himself by whacking it with the pipe. The dog collapsed but didn't remain still, not that Toshigi was going to stay long enough for it to do so.

* * *

"Zombies? That's what's out there?" Ukyo asked, having gotten those taking shelter in her restaurant.

"Yeah, saw a guy with his skull broken open and he still walked. Walked like he needed a cane, but he walked all the same." A man at the counter replied, oddly casually. He had introduced himself as Takeuchi, no other name, and he was currently holding some chopsticks like they were cigarettes, obviously for some kind of mental relief. He had short but messy black hair, glasses, an unshaven face but no beard, and was dressed in a red and yellow track suit at the moment like he had been jogging when all this started.

"Don't scare my son like that." The mother within the bunkering people chided, holding her child close to her. She had given her name as Mayu, and her son was a seven year old boy named Takeru.

"Don't scare your son, or don't scare _you_ lady?" Takeuchi replied indifferently, like he already knew the answer.

"How do we get out of here? What do you do when the dead are alive?" The other man in the shop asked. He said his name was Hiro, and he was currently dressed casually with glasses, looking like he was either old enough to graduate college or young enough that he only just recently had.

"The only thing you can do is find a weapon and then find a way out of town." The second young boy in the shop said calmly, eating some offered pocky that was in the store. He looked to be closer to ten and wore glasses.

"Hikaru this isn't a video game." The high school girl with this boy told him. Her name was Hitomi, same year as Ukyo but in one of the other classes.

"Neesan what else do we have to go off on here?" He asked.

"I believe the child is right. We can't stay here forever, so we may have to fight our way out." Konatsu claimed.

"Fight? With what? Chopsticks and soy sauce? Because that's all I see here!" Mayu asked, aghast.

Konatsu pulled out several shuriken and kunai along with a ninjato, placing them on the part of the counter that didn't include the grill. "I'm armed, I wouldn't be much of a kunoichi if I weren't."

"And I have weapons too." Ukyo added, having made sure to equip herself with her best weapons.

"Well good for the two of you but we've got nothing but the shirts on our backs!" Hiro all but shouted.

"Stick close to us and grab whatever you can use and you'll be safe. I have friends who can help protect you too. Now, if we can think of a place to go, then we can start working on getting out of here." Ukyo declared.

"Hey, we all got people we want to find and bring with us. My brother and I don't want to leave our parents behind." Hitomi protested.

Takeuchi quietly scoffed. "What are we supposed to do? Gather every living person we see and give the zombies a buffet?"

Hiro glared and clenched a fist. "How can you be so heartless?"

"I call it being sensible. The more people in one place, the more targets for the zombies. You want to bring together everyone and their brother into one place with so far only two people who know how to fight here to fend them off? You gonna season yourself with salt or teriyaki for the zombies?"

"We can't just abandon the people we know!" Hitomi almost shouted, with Hiro nodding.

Takeuchi looked to the chef and kunoichi. "You guys are the fighters here, it's your call."

Ukyo closed her eyes and thought it over. Her initial thought was to agree with saving as many as possible, but Takeuchi had too valid a point to ignore. After thinking it over, she sighed and looked at everyone in her restaurant.

"If we go outside, we'll be surrounded by those things. Our best chance for safety is to make a straight line for out of town and find somewhere to hole up. If we go searching for others, for the friends and family of everyone here, a straight line is impossible. We'd go from one end of Nerima to the other, gather more while fending off undead cannibals, and each person we gather will probably have another person somewhere else to save too. I hate to say it, but we can't save everyone. Best we can do is save ourselves and just hope they can do the same."

"You can't do that!" Hiro objected.

"I'm not going to force anyone to do anything. If you need to save someone, then by means do so, but if the zombie apocalypse really is happening right now, I'm going to get as far away from it as possible. You can come with me, or you can take your chances."

Hitomi frowned. "Bet if Saotome were here he'd try to save everyone."

Ukyo frowned in return. "Sorry, but I'm not Ranchan. But if I know him, he's already trying to do that. But I'm not going to let him die just because people like you don't want him to stop."

She got a few angry looks, but she ignored them and handed everyone a chopping knife. "Here, it's at least some way to defend yourself. Konatsu, let's head to the Tendo place. Ranchan will need our help and he can keep us safe better than Konatsu and I can. If anyone wants to come along, try to keep up."

The others gathered here looked indecisive and understandably so. Regardless of where any of them go, they'd be going out into a horde of mobile corpses armed with nothing but a kitchen utensil and relying on these two to fend off said corpses. Staying here for the long term was not an option, they all knew that.

"What if Saotome is one of them?" Hitomi asked.

Ukyo briefly envisioned a rotting and ravenous Ranma, then banished it from her mind. "He won't go down that easily."

"I still say we shouldn't leave anyone behind, but I would feel better with Saotome around. So I'll go with you." She claimed, then looked to her brother. "Hikaru, stay close to me no matter what." He nodded.

Hiro still frowned. "I don't think we have a choice. We'd be dead on our own."

Ukyo nodded and went to the door, beginning to move the blockage out of the way. Konatsu and Takeuchi began to help her, and they were relieved that no zombies were trying to barge in now.

"Ready?" Ukyo asked, hands on the door knob but not opening yet.

"No, but I don't think I ever could be." Mayu answered.

"Konatsu, be ready." Ukyo ordered, and the gender-confused ninja nodded. She opened the door slowly, peeking outside.

Out in the street there were no people, but there were a few zombies kneeling down and chowing on an unlucky victim across the street and two stores to the right within the shade of the buildings. Enough distance to keep them from ambushing the still living people right away. Along with them was a sickly looking dog, with blood covering its fur and a gray tongue sticking out.

 _'It's not just the people. Animals are affected too.'_ Ukyo thought, then gestured for everyone to remain quiet. She slowly opened the door more, enough for a single person to slip out. She did so and quickly took out her battle spatula defensively. So far the zombies remained uninterested or unaware of her presence. When she got out enough, she gestured for the others to come out too.

One by one the others came out, sticking close to the shop in case they had to get back in. The zombies remained indifferent to them, and the group tried to quietly walk away without turning their backs on the undead. The dog started sniffing then looked in their direction, but it didn't look like it saw them that well. It barked, or made a gagging sound like a bark with blood droplets flying out, but the others ignored it.

Only Konatsu and Ukyo kept their eyes on the zombies, looking away only to make sure no zombies were in other directions. When they felt they were far enough from these zombies and had a clear opening, they picked up the speed and practically ran off like they were in a marathon.

* * *

Within the Kuno compound there were close to a dozen people gathered and clearly afraid. Each had checked each other for any signs of injury, particularly bites, and so far they were all clear. When Kodachi came into the room they gave her their attention, hoping for some good news.

"I'm afraid you all must leave." She declared before holding up a bag of her paralysis powder and getting ready to scoop out a handful to throw at them all. Had Tatewaki not come in then and whacked it out of her hands just then, she might have succeeded.

"Don't you dare Kodachi!" He ordered. "You will not throw defenseless people out onto the streets just to keep the supplies here for ourselves!"

"Tatewaki we prepared for bunkering here for just the two of us, not a crowd!" Kodachi protested.

"Not even me?" Sasuke asked, but was ignored.

"If we cater to anyone else we will starve nearly immediately!" Kodachi continued. "Our first priority is to protect ourselves, not complete strangers. Better they die then we die!"

Tatewaki looked at his sister distastefully. He had always known she believed in the ends justifying the means and eliminating the competition before the challenge started, so it wasn't out of character for her to make the choice she had. But this was no mere competition, this was survival during a potentially apocalyptic event. This was a time to save as many as you could, not throw them into the fire just to keep yourself ahead of it.

"No sister, the house of Kuno has always been a guiding one for those that do not know where to go. We cannot do that by leaving others behind."

"We are of no use to others if we starve." Kodachi countered.

"Do you not remember the escape tunnel Kodachi?"

The gymnast blinked, then nodded. "Oh yes, I see. That would help if we move fast."

Tatewaki looked towards those he had taken in. "Everyone, this house has a way for us to get out of here safely. We have an escape tunnel built in for use during a major crisis such as an earthquake or worse. If everyone can grab some of the stored supplies in this house, we can move out and find a place where these monsters cannot get us and hopefully we can find more food."

"And if it doesn't work?" Someone in the crowd asked.

"Then we will be no worse off than we are right now."

No one in the group could really argue that, so they got up and looked ready to work. Tatewaki led them to the basement and opened their emergency supply cache. Upon first glance, it looked like the Kuno siblings had underestimating how long it would last. Assuming they rationed it wisely and it was mostly non-perishables, this could feed them all for a good four days.

Still, Kodachi was not convinced. "Brother, I wish to go obtain more, just as a precaution."

"That is unwise Kodachi."

"I wasn't asking." She pointed out, twirling her ribbon and disappearing in a storm of black petals per her style. Quite a few people brushed the petals off themselves in annoyance.

Tatewaki mentally sighed. _'You better be safe sister.'_ He then proceeded to unlock a hidden door that opened to reveal a gradually descending tunnel. There were no lights, but there were flashlights held up on holsters by the entrance, so he took one and handed the others to anyone with a free arm, leaving one behind for Kodachi when she returned. Then the group led by Tatewaki proceeded down the hall.

* * *

The sound of a door opening then slamming immediately got everyone's attention, and several of them got ready to fight if need be.

"It's me! I'm okay!" Akane called, locking the door. It had already been locked of course, but this being her house she naturally had her own key.

"Akane? Thank Kami-sama. You're not hurt are you?" Soun called back, rushing to see his youngest daughter.

"No I'm fine, but you won't believe what's happening out there." Akane said, coming towards the dining room. Soun met her before she could get there and engulfed her in a hug, which Akane decided to let him do this one time.

"We know, we've seen it on the computer. It seems like it's happening all over the world."

"All over the world? Akane repeated, feeling her stomach tied up in a knot. "Everyone's okay, right?"

Soun sweated a bit. If he told Akane about her sister, there was no telling how she'd react. "None of the instigators have come around here." He answered, which was not untrue.

Akane relaxed. "Where's Ranma?"

"Wasn't he with you?" Soun asked. Akane shook her head. "Well I'm sure he's already on his way."

"We have to get as far away from here as possible." Akane stated.

"How? We have no transportation." He asked.

"We'll find some. The important thing is we get away from here. It's only a matter of time before those things out there come here."

Soun sweated a bit. "Just what did you see out there Akane?"

"People turning into monsters Dad. I saw my best friends die and come back as zombies right in front of me. We can't stay here. What if they come to our house?"

"Don't say that Akane! That will not happen!" Soun protested. 'She can't see Kasumi. Akane would be emotionally destroyed. But how do I keep her away from her own sister?'

"If we get out of here then we'll be safer." Akane insisted.

"Yes but we can't leave without Ranma. Maybe you could go find him?" He offered, hoping that this would delay any possible sighting of Kasumi for her.

Before the youngest Tendo could respond to the oldest, they both heard a scream out in the back, and Soun's blood went cold.

* * *

Getting to the Tendo estate was easy for Ranma and the others. They all just charged forward striking down any zombie that chose to get in their way. They were all relieved to make it there, and since the route they took brought them to the backyard first most of them just jumped over the wall rather than go around. Ryoga stayed with Akari since she and Katsunishiki couldn't get through that way. Not without breaking the wall down, so they had to take the long way.

They were immediately greeted by a snarl and someone attacking them, forcing Ranma, Shampoo, and Mousse to back away on sheer reflex right now. When they saw who it was, they gasped.

"No, not her. It can't be her."

"Are my glasses on?" Mousse asked, feeling his face and confirming they indeed were on.

"How did this happen? Are we too late?" Ranma asked, staying away while the oldest Tendo daughter did a good impression of an angry dog on a leash.

"Airen look. She tied up." Shampoo said, pointing to the tether. From the looks of it the knot was starting to get looser the more Kasumi struggled. "Maybe she only one like this."

 _'She has been the only one sick lately. Wait... sick. Oh crap was she slowly turning into a zombie this whole time?'_ He asked himself.

Mousse stepped forward and put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Saotome, you know what needs to be done."

"But... it's Kasumi."

The myopic boy shook his head. "No, it's not Kasumi anymore. What you see before you is nothing more than a dead body that doesn't know it's dead. Just because it's Kasumi's body doesn't make it any less dangerous."

Ranma continued to look at the former housekeeper, seeing the glazed eyes, bleeding mouth, open cuts on her skin and clothes with more blood. As hard as it was to accept, the fact was she was dangerous, and for all he knew she had already killed or bitten one of her family members, or one of his parents. And if she hadn't yet, the risk was still there. He knew no one in the Tendo family would finish her off; and even if they could, none of them would be able to handle having that on their conscience. No, the only one who could put her out of her misery was him.

…

But to be honest, he'd rather not have that on his conscience either.

"Can you do it Mousse?" He quietly asked.

"Airen?" Shampoo asked, confused.

"Mousse is the one here who's had the least interaction with Kasumi. I think if any of us can live with this, he can."

The Chinese boy took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll make it quick."

He slowly went in closer, suspecting that his favored ranged attacks wouldn't be as effective here. They'd be good at driving off, capturing, or hindering the undead, but not killing them. A weakness he now knew he had to work on for the foreseeable future. With one idea that could do the job, he reached into one of the pockets within his robes for a weapon he didn't keep up his sleeves.

When he did so, Kasumi made another lunge, and the knot in the rope keeping her down had been rapidly starting to unravel. This allowed her to get in and bite down on Mousse's right forearm.

Shampoo screamed, alerting the occupants of the Tendo household that they were now here.

Mousse flicked some fingers and the next thing they knew cloth was being ripped and a small blade came out, cutting into Kasumi's mouth and making her back off. She shrilled and felt around her jaw, as if making sure it was still attached. It was, but right now Kasumi could pass as the kuchisake-onna of lore.

"Good thing I kept that on." Mousse said to himself, referring to a hidden wearable blade.

The back door opened and the remaining Tendos along with Ranma's parents looked outside. "What's going on here?" Soun and Genma yelled.

The shouting drew Kasumi's attention and the presence of seemingly weaker prey made her change her targets. She headed towards them, and Ranma could see that there was a good chance this time the rope would not hold her back.

With no thoughts except he didn't want to see more die, Ranma darted forward and threw a fist, hitting Kasumi in the head. The results were explosive, and a headless body fell to the ground, as motionless as a corpse should be.

Everyone who saw this was stunned, for a brief moment no one had the state of mind to react to what they just saw. Soun fell to his knees and dropped his jaw, Akane covered her mouth, and Nabiki looked like she was close to mimicking her father. Genma and Nodoka had wide eyes and rigid postures, but otherwise were less effected. Though Nodoka did look like she was about to vomit again.

The moment, as could only be expected, passed almost as quickly as it came.

Ryoga and Akari came around, followed by Katsunishiki. "Everyone alright?" They asked.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Nabiki screamed, fury written all over her face in bold burning letters. "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

She ran right at the pigtailed boy with murder in her eyes, shrieking like a berserker. Ranma was frozen from the unexpectedness of this, but fortunately Shampoo came up on his behalf and knocked the mercenary away.

Another loud cry was heard, and they could see Akane jump up with her mallet in hand. This time they jumped back and had her hit the ground with her giant hammer.

"Kasumi..." Soun cried as he crawled up to his daughter's headless remains. He looked like he wanted to hold her yet was afraid to touch her at the same time. While he was doing that, his remaining daughters continued to try and pulverize Ranma.

"Akane, Nabiki, stop this!" Ranma protested, being evasive since he didn't want to hit either.

"SHUT UP AND DIE!" One of the Tendos demanded, though at the moment it was impossible to tell which one had said it.

All of a sudden Shampoo jumped in front of the two sisters with her chui out and spun around, the blunt ends impacting Akane in the gut and Nabiki in the chest due to differing angles and heights. Nabiki was knocked off her feet but Akane managed to stay standing, albeit winded.

"Akane, listen to me." Ranma started. She looked at him, and when he saw her eyes he froze.

Like how Mousse was an expert in telling how angry Shampoo was just by looking in her eyes, Ranma was the same when it came to Akane. Normally Akane's anger was like a firework, big burst at the beginning but quick to fade. Thus no matter how frequent or aggressive her outbursts got, he still considered them tolerable. But this time, her eyes were like a campfire, steady and building, as if fed by pain and misunderstanding. This was an anger not unlike the kind he had seen when the Reversal Brooch had been taken off her, an anger that would not be calmed by just a mallet strike.

"YOU KILLED MY SISTER!" Akane yelled, tears falling freely from her eyes now. "YOU KILLED KASUMI!"

"Y-yes, but she was a-already a zombie!" Ranma tried to explain.

"MY SISTER IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" The youngest Tendo daughter shouted, rushing forward again to resume attacking. Shampoo sidestepped to let her pass, keeping her own attention focused on the slowly recovering Nabiki since she knew Ranma could handle Akane on his own. The only problem was, would he?

Akane swung her mallet from above, trying to crush the pigtailed teen like a whack-a-mole rather than send him into lower earth orbit. But rather than dodge, Ranma actually caught the mallet with both hands. Despite that however, the force of the impact still resulted in a small crater forming under his feet, like he was driven down but not pushed down.

"Will you listen to me?! Yes I killed her! I _had_ to! I was putting her out of her misery. Now she can't go wandering around killing and eating people!"

Akane finally released her mallet, but she created a new one in its place and tried swinging it at him from the side now that he was providing her an opening. Switching the mallet he had caught around so he held the handle, he deflected her second one with the first. Had this been another time, he might have found it ironic to use Akane's own weapon against her like this, but today was no day for humor.

"Do you really think Kasumi would have wanted that?" He pressed. "To be a monster for the rest of her undead days? Or would she have wanted to be stopped before that happened? Before she killed you or the rest of your family? I don't like what I did but I _had_ to do it!"

"YOU KILLED MY SISTER!" Akane repeated, tears falling even faster as she finally started losing her fighting spirit, the pain of loss starting to set in. "My... sister... Ka... Kasumi..."

She collapsed to her knees, both mallets vanishing, and she threw her head back and practically howled to the sky in anguish.

Ryoga and Akari came up to Ranma now that the fight was over. "What's going on?

"Kasumi was already one of those things and she was about to attack her family." Ranma quickly explained.

"She was not!" Nabiki declared firmly, not yelling but easily getting everyone's attention. "She was just sick! We could have gotten her cured if it hadn't been for you!"

"You can't cure death!" Ranma proclaimed just as firmly.

"SHE WAS NOT DEAD!" Nabiki shouted, tears struggling to break free but she forbade them.

The sounds of shrieks were heard, and everyone except Soun and Akane spun around. On both sides of the house were a couple of zombies coming their way making their groans and hisses. A couple had leg injuries but those that didn't ran right for the living.

"All the screaming and shouting must have attracted them." Mousse theorized, throwing knives at the quickest approaching ones. The blades hit the forehead and necks, halting the undead. "We have to get out of here now! Ending an argument be damned!"

"For once Shampoo agree with Mousse." The buxom Amazon replied, using her chui to bash in the heads of two other walking corpses. Nodoka even joined in with her sword, though she only did what would injury a person rather than kill them.

Ranma dashed to Akane and picked her up since she was still on her knees, His touch appeared to snap her back into reality, and with it all she could think was that the man she thought she might love had just murdered her sister right in front of her.

Making no sound, she materialized another mallet and swung it as if it were the hammer of the gods. The close range made it so this time Ranma could not properly catch it, so he took the full impact and went flying up and over the property, out of sight.

"Airen!" Shampoo screamed before jumping over the wall and going over him.

"Ranma!" Nodoka screamed too, pausing to see this.

"Soun get up! We have to go!" Genma repeated, pulling his friend to his feet.

Soun looked at the bald martial artist, pain and anger in his eyes, but he nodded. "Yes, we do." He said simply.

"I'm not going anywhere with these-" Nabiki started, only to get knocked out by Mousse. She slumped and he caught her.

"Akane, move!" Ryoga said firmly, seeing her just standing looking in the direction she hit Ranma. She looked to him, her eyes also filled with pain and anger, but she didn't act on it.

"Everyone cover their eyes!" Genma warned, pulling out a large firecracker.

"Genma that's not..." Soun started, but when Genma lit the wick he shielded his eyes.

Genma charged the explosive with his ki then threw it at the remaining zombies. Upon impact with one it detonated and created a bright blast empowered by the natural energy. All the zombies were knocked down and some had missing skin now, but none of them looked any worse off then they already were.

"Quickly, while they're stunned!" Genma shouted. He picked up his wife bridal style, Mousse carried a now tied up Nabiki, and Ryoga, Akari, and Akane got onto Katsunishiki's back. They all ran off and away from the Tendo household, with Soun running alongside the Saotomes.

* * *

Toshigi walked down the streets, staying away from the buildings. That seemed to be where most of the zombies currently were. Almost all of them were currently devouring some poor person, gathered together like wolves over a fallen deer. So most weren't in the mood to take him down too.

 _'Why are they all in the shade? What, do they hate sunlight like vampires too?'_ He asked, seeing them all prefer to eat in the alleys and backsides of the buildings around them. And given the bloodstains on the ground, many of their current meals were dragged there.

 _'No, they're not vampires. Maybe it's their eyes. The eyes of those I've seen have been blank, not blind but empty and... dilated. Maybe the sunlight is just too much for them. Does that mean they'd be more dangerous at night?'_

Considering it was the late afternoon now in autumn and the sun wasn't going to stay out much longer, the math teacher decided to seek shelter and just hold up until the morning. Maybe a restaurant or store, so he could at least scrounge up something to eat.

 _'Oh, that Chinese restaurant is in the area, that'll do. And they've got martial artists like Tendo and Saotome there too so I'll be safe.'_ He thought, sprinting down the street, keeping an eye out in case there was a zombie with an empty stomach still out there.

* * *

"Strange, I'd expect to see at least some looting going on." Kodachi mused as she moved over the rooftops, keeping her eyes on the streets below. Signs of damage to the shops that would fit looting were certainly there. Broken windows, open doors, spilled trashcans, that sort of thing. But a riot of any scale was largely absent.

For the most part, the only people still out anymore were the zombies, either feasting on a recent victim or looking for their next one. The still living had wisely chosen to hold up in the nearest shelter, but screaming from within random buildings proved that not all had been barricaded enough.

A crashing sound caught her attention though. "What was that?" It wasn't far from her current position so there was no reason not to check it out. She changed directions and came to a stop, silently gasping when she saw Ranma on the ground by a bunch on knocked over trashcans.

"Ranma darling!" She called out, jumping down to assist him. He wasn't unconscious, hell he didn't even look bruised, but he was at risk being out here like this.

He slowly got up, with her help, groaning and rubbing his head. "I can't believe she actually did that. I mean, I know I shouldn't be too surprised, but c'mon."

"Ranma dear, you shouldn't be out here alone. Even a man as strong as yourself is at risk in this." Kodachi tried to tell him. "I can get you somewhere safe and we can escape all this."

'While leaving those other harlots here to rot.' She added in her mind, envisioning Ranma gallantly carrying her away to better places while ugly deformed caricatures of Akane, Shampoo, Ukyo, and the pigtailed girl were pulled underground by ghoulish hands.

Ranma ignored her and got up on his feet, looking around to see if there were any zombies around. Unfortunately, there was one, and ironically it was one he recognized. He never caught their name, but he'd recognize the ladle lady anywhere, even with blood on her face. This zombie noticed them and headed their way, moving faster than the traditional slow zombie lumbering, but still too slow to be a normal person's speed.

Kodachi saw the old zombie coming too. "Fear not Ranma, for I will deal with it." She jumped towards it and twirled her ribbon, quickly trapping the zombie in her ties.

"Airen!" Shampoo called out, jumping down from a rooftop having now caught up to him.

"Shampoo? Is everyone still at the dojo?" He asked.

"Not know, Shampoo left to find you after Akane be so cruel. But I assume they go."

Ranma nodded. "Alright, let's go find your grandmother then we can regroup and get the hell out of here."

Kodachi meanwhile started laughing, and the two others couldn't help but look her way. They saw her essentially playing around with the old lady zombie she had tied up, stringing it along and even throwing it around like it was harmless.

 _'Geez, I know that she loves humiliating those she has the upper hand on, but this feels wrong on several levels.'_ Ranma grimaced.

While Kodachi was busy playing with her captive, her laughing drew the attention of other zombies and they began to encroach the area. Ranma and Shampoo noticed first and reacted immediately by jumping up to one of the roofs.

"Kodachi get out of there!" Ranma called out.

The gymnast stopped her little game and looked around seeing her surrounded by more walking undead but with a good amount of space between them and herself. More than enough for her to escape to a rooftop as well. However, she just smiled.

"Fear not Ranma, they are no trouble for the Black Rose." She proclaimed, reaching for her bag of paralysis powder... only to then remember that her brother had knocked it out of her hands back at her house. Now her confidence wasn't quite so high.

"No matter, I am always with weapon." She assured herself, taking out another ribbon to ensnare another zombie. The problem with this became apparent quickly, being that she could not ensnare them all, as the others came in closer. She retaliated by throwing spiked clubs at them, and they dug into the flesh of their targets, but this only halted them momentarily. Weapons were not an effective tool against an opponent that doesn't care if it's in pain after all.

"Kodachi just get out of there!" Ranma yelled out again, seeing her window of opportunity shrink.

The gymnast held three clubs in each hand, the last of her weapons, and kept turning around, trying to keep her eyes on each walking corpse around her. They had her surrounded like a pack of wolves, ready to dive in at any time. In the back of her mind she knew she needed to heed Ranma's words and escape, but her little victory from before still made her want to believe that she could handle this kind of threat.

Then again, Kodachi did prefer an easy victory and this certainly wasn't going to be that.

Her mind made up, Kodachi made a move to jump over the horde, and that in turn prompted them to hasten their own ambush. She got over, but several reached up and one grabbed her ankle, throwing off her trajectory and making her crash back to the ground, dropping all but two clubs. The zombies quickly moved over her and began their work.

Kodachi screamed as she felt teeth dig into her back and legs. She kicked and tried to squirm free, forcing a couple of the corpses to back off. But where one moved away, another moved in. Kodachi rolled to her back and despite the seering pain in her legs tried to get up, but more zombies came in and ripped into her torso with their bare hands, cleaving her skin to get at her internal organs.

"HELP ME!" She screamed in utter agony, her hands reaching out for help soon being the only part of her that could be visible. Ranma and Shampoo could only watch in horror at the sight of a human literally being torn apart and made into an open buffet.

"Let's go, there's nothing we can do for her." Ranma said softly with regret. Shampoo nodded and the two departed, wishing to see no more.


	4. Grave Escape

Chapter 4-Grave Escape

"Just what is going on here?" Principal Kuno asked as he got out of the school, having been driven out of his office via some zombie teachers that broke in. He had not taken them seriously of course, trying to give them haircuts per his normal, until one of them bit three of his fingers off. That was when he started getting serious and threw an explosive coconut at the faculty member, only for them to be unfazed.

Worried, he left the office and saw more zombies and remains of unlucky victims in the halls, prompting him to flee outside where there were a few more of each still there. And each wanted more than just three fingers from him again.

"I'm not sticking around here." He said to himself before he began running off as fast as he could. While no true martial artist, he was still faster than the average person, the better to sneak up on his victims after all, and avoided all those trying to grab him. With one destination in mind.

* * *

Ranma and Shampoo jumped from rooftop to rooftop, looking for anyone still alive below them while heading towards the Nekohanten. Fortunately, they found someone.

"Ucchan!" He called out, though careful not to be too loud.

The okonomiyaki chef and her group stopped and turned around, seeing the pigtailed martial artist and the Chinese Amazon descend from the buildings.

"Ranchan!" She shouted, overjoyed, and rushed to engulf him in a hug, shedding tears of relief. Ranma returned it, and while Shampoo was not happy to see it, she knew this was not the time to get territorial over the young Saotome.

"Not too loud Ucchan, these things are attracted to noise." He warned.

"I'm just glad they didn't get you."

"So now are we safe with Saotome around?" The high school girl in the group asked.

"Just who is this guy?" Hiro asked

"He's the best martial artist in town. You didn't see that giant flying minotaur fight that flying fire-breathing monster months ago?" She asked back, referencing the conflict between Pantyhose-Taro and Rouge. "This guy stopped them both. If anyone can protect us from a city full of zombies it's him."

"What about the military? Why aren't they here already with tanks evacuating us?" The mother in the group asked.

"Simple. Japan doesn't keep it's army or national guard on standby like that. The tanks and helicopters needed for this wouldn't be ready immediately, and even when they are, the first priority would be containment, not evacuation." Takeuchi answered.

"Are you saying the people who are supposed to save us are going to keep us locked in here with these flesh-eating corpses?" Hiro asked.

"Assuming this is happening only here in Nerima, then it would explain why we haven't seen any help yet. But... if we assume this happening in other places too..."

"It is. I checked on my phone while we were in the restaurant." The high school girl claimed.

"No time for talk, let's go." Ranma told them. The civilians nodded and followed the martial artists. Shampoo took up the lead by going back to the roofs, allowing her to scout ahead for them.

* * *

 _'Please, let me be safe here.'_ Hikaru Gosunkugi thought to himself as he hid inside a trashcan, trying to be as quiet and still as possible. He had seen a lot of people die out here when the uprising had begun. He witnessed the Golden Pair, Mikado Sanzenin and Asuza Shiratori, get chomped up after trying their best to combo-fight off the ice. He saw Sentaro Daimonji along with his wife try to escape on horseback only to go the wrong way and have all three of them become zombie chow. He saw his own parents, but they were already zombies when he got home, hence why he was not there now. No, now he was hiding in a trashcan just outside the Nekohanten.

 _'As long as they don't see or hear me, they won't come for me. Then when it's clear, I'll make a break for it.'_

The sound of approaching footsteps made him hold his breath.

"Why are we here?"

 _'Someone alive is here?'_ He asked himself, allowing himself to slightly peak out under the lid. Not enough to see who was there, but enough to know there was more than one person.

The door to the Nekohanten opened and Cologne came out, with a few people who had managed to get into her restaurant as well. "Mousse? Where are Shampoo and Son-in-law?"

"I don't know, but they should be on their way right here. Then we need to get the hell out of here."

"Agreed. Real zombies or not, this is no place to stay anymore." The old lady agreed, allowing everyone to come inside for the time being.

"I'll stay with Katsunishiki." Akari claimed since her beloved pig couldn't enter the building.

"Then I'm staying out here with you." Ryoga added.

Before the door closed, Gosunkugi emerged from the trashcan. "Go head, I'm going inside if that's an option"

Cologne just looked at him like he was stupid for being in a trashcan in the first place, but allowed him entrance.

Inside, Nabiki began to regain conscience. "Okay, who knocked me out?" She asked angrily.

"Would you have cooperated otherwise?" Mousse asked back.

The middle, now oldest, Tendo daughter ignored him and looked around. "Where is that son of a bitch?"

Nodoka frowned in response. "You better not be referring to my son there young lady."

"And what if I am? What, you gotta kill me too like he killed Kasumi?"

"I don't like it either, but we all know your sister was one of those things."

Akane gasped. "You mean... Kasumi was..."

"No! She was not! Don't believe her for a single second Akane!" Nabiki protested.

"She was a zombie Nabiki! A zombie! That thing wasn't your sister anymore! Saotome had to kill it so it wouldn't kill you!" Mousse jumped in.

"Kasumi would not become a zombie!"

"Why? Why is your sister the one person in the world who cannot become a zombie? What made her so damn special?"

Nabiki took great offense at this and lunged at the myopic boy, catching him by surprise and tackling him, hitting him in quick succession and managing to break his glasses. However Mousse was actually trained of the two and had little difficulty in getting her off and wrapped in chains once the initial surprise factor wore off.

"You can't keep me tied up forever! I swear I'm going to kill both you and Ranma once I'm outta here!"

"You will do no such thing." Nodoka warned, holding out her sword up to the girl to emphasize her claim. The others in the restaurant gasped at this sight and backed away. At the same time Mousse put on his spare set of glasses.

"Soun old friend," Genma started, looking to his old training and drinking buddy. "It pains me to say this, but in light of recent events, I'm afraid our promise cannot be upheld."

Soun gave no verbal reaction, in fact he still seemed somewhat disconnected from his surroundings due to the shock of seeing Kasumi die in front of him. It was like he was just on autopilot now.

"Whatever Kasumi was, the fact is my son killed her. And your daughter wants revenge. The schools cannot be united if blood has been spilled between them and one side wants to spill more. Until this is resolved, no marriage can be possible."

"Resolved? I'll give you resolved! I swear on Kasumi's dead body that Ranma will die by my hands, and any marriage to Akane be damned!" Nabiki declared.

Several eyes fell on Akane after hearing that, waiting to see her reaction to this. But she was in shock, looking like she still didn't know whether to believe if Kasumi was a zombie or not. Since she had never actually gotten a good look at her oldest sister this afternoon, her confusion was natural. But who was right? Was it Nabiki who wanted blood instead of money for once? Or was it Ranma, the man who spilled blood in the first place?

"Akane, do you trust my son or not?" Nodoka asked.

"Of course she doesn't!" Nabiki cut in.

"I wasn't asking you." Nodoka warned, then looked back to the youngest Tendo. "Akane, do you trust Ranma when he says he did a mercy killing?"

She didn't know what to say. Did she believe Ranma? The man she loved, at least in some form or another? The man whose words of love brought her back from the brink of death? The man who... killed her sister right in front of her?

"If you're all done with your bickering, I think I may have a way for us to get out of here." Someone spoke up.

Everyone looked and Akane perked up out of her shock. "Toshigi-sensei. You made it."

He nodded. "Right. Now, if we want to move we have to do it fast, but I think I know how we all can get someone without these monsters around every corner."

"How?" Genma asked.

"Furinkan has a school bus, and fortunately I know how to drive it."

Many perked up. A bus would be great transport for them right now. Everyone looked happy at the idea.

"But we have to move fast." Toshigi continued. "From what I've seen, these zombies seem sensitive to sunlight. I think it's too much for their eyes, it blinds them. That's why they haven't killed everyone already and why most of them stick to the gaps between the buildings. Once the sun goes down, they'll be free to hunt us as they please."

"Well then we better hurry. Everyone help me pack up some food and grab something to use as a weapon." Cologne ordered. Many got up and went into the kitchen to do just that while she went upstairs to the residential portion.

* * *

Outside, Ryoga and Katsunishiki were on guard, well aware there were still zombies out on the streets even if they couldn't be seen at the moment. Akari was sticking close to both, trying to keep an eye out for the enemy too.

"Weird, these things are supposed to be everywhere. Why would the streets be empty?" Ryoga asked himself.

"Maybe there's more food somewhere else?" Akari suggested, showing a little disgust at having to refer to living people as food for these things.

They jumped when Shampoo jumped down from another building a few meters from them, looking like she was getting tired of so much running in one afternoon.

"Everyone here...?" She asked when she got closer, panting a little.

Ryoga and Akari nodded. "You found Ranma?"

Shampoo nodded. "More coming... we go soon...?"

"Yes, we can finally get away from all this."

Shampoo smiled then jumped back to the roofs, waving her hands to signal the other group of survivors.

Ryoga found it odd, but not for the first time he was relieved to see Ranma alright. He also saw Ukyo and several other people, and could only hope this would all work.

"Okay, is everyone here in this one spot?" Ranma asked when they got in front of the Nekohanten.

"We can still get more." One of the civilians pointed out.

"Then we'll get them along the way. For now, let's just get somewhere there are no zombies." Ukyo reminded.

"And where would that be?"

"My family has a ranch in the country. It's far from here and wide open, so if nothing else it's a place to start." Akari told them, which helped calm the frightened people down.

Shampoo went inside the restaurant. "Great-grandmother, I home."

"Yet this may not be home much longer." Cologne remarked, having gathered up their needed and more cherished possessions while others held bundles of food and some equipment for defense. "Everyone, let's get to the school."

Terrified, but having no other choice, everyone went outside. Mousse kept Nabiki chained up despite Soun's protests, though he didn't keep himself tethered to her anymore. The martial artists formed a defensive perimeter around the other people, and the headcount so far seemed to be roughly thirty.

"Why the school?" Ranma whispered.

"That guy there can drive the bus." Mousse answered, pointing to Toshigi. "And according to him, these things can't really see us in the daytime."

 _'Like you?'_ Ranma thought, but wisely chose not to say. "They're drawn to noise, so try not to be too loud either."

"They're like bats, they can hear us but they can't see us that well, and they're probably better at hunting in the night than in the day. That's how we can stay out of their clutches." The myopic male amazon summarized.

Ranma blinked. "Wait a minute, drawn to noise." He then looked up and around. "How long have the sirens been off?"

Mousse blinked and looked around too, only now realizing that he hadn't heard the alarms blaring. "I have no idea. Why would they stop now?"

"I dunno, but if they aren't going that could be why the zombies can hear us even if they can't see us."

Up ahead in the front of the group, a couple of zombies headed their way. Genma was in position and threw one of his versions of the Happo Fire Burst at the walking dead. The blast made them collapse and writhe, screaming their shrill hisses.

"Guess that guy was right about them not liking light." Genma claimed.

"More are coming." Cologne warned, seeing more coming out of the alleys. "Can you do more?"

"Not a lot, but hopefully enough if sparingly."

"Then for once, prove your worth to me Genma."

Genma frowned but ignored her. "Ranma!" He called out, not seeing a reason to remain quiet. Nevertheless, his son came up to him. "For now, the forbidden techniques are allowed. All of them."

Ranma nodded, seeing what his father was saying, and got ready to act if he had to.

* * *

In the center of the group, Nabiki leaned in towards her sister. "Akane, get me out of these chains."

"Are you going to attack Ranma?" She asked.

"If I'm tied up like this I'm practically giving myself to the 'zombies' aren't I?"

Not seeing an argument for that, Akane began to untangle the chains.

* * *

Up ahead, Shampoo moved around her great-grandmother and got beside Ranma. "Airen, if we can talk, what you going to talk to Shampoo about earlier?"

 _'Earlier?'_ He thought. _'Oh yeah, when I asked her to meet me at the cafe before this all started. Damn, it feels like all that confusion over depression just disappeared. But I still owe it to her to at least try and make things right.'_

"Shampoo, are you happy?" He asked, though her expression made it clear he had misphrased it. "Let me try that again. Ignoring all this, were you happy here in Nerima before all this started, or were you hurting?"

The purple-haired girl was more than a little surprised to hear this. Ranma was not the type to ask about feelings, and to her knowledge she hadn't given any signs that she was losing hope at winning his heart. Or had she? Must have been a pretty obvious sign for Ranma to feel he had to do something about it.

"Shampoo... was hurting." She admitted, believing nothing but honesty would be appropriate here. "But save this for later, is okay?"

He nodded, and the two kept on going. However, Shampoo took ahold of one of his hands, a small way of thanking him for caring. He blushed, but did not deny her.

* * *

Principal Kuno made it to his family's house, which he had not set foot inside for months since he liked his office so much, and unlocked the gates. Normally his children kept changing the locks to better keep him out, but he had a deal with the locksmith to always give him a key in secret. As rare as his returns to this place were, no one was going to stop him from tormenting his kids whenever he wanted.

To his relief there were no zombies inside, but the giant gator Kodachi called her pet was quite agitated and out of its pond. He ignored it and went inside.

"Tacchi! Dacchi! The big kahuna's here!" He announced, mostly out of habit. He looked around the entrance but saw no sign of either of his children. Taking a moment, he knelt forward, putting his hands on his knees, and looked at his injury. He had been applying pressure to halt the bleeding, but it had never truly stopped.

"Some bandages would be a good idea." He muttered, starting to feel lightheaded and attributing that to blood loss. Since both of his kids were competitive martial artists, the first aide kit had to be convenient to access, allowing him to find it with ease in the kitchen. He took out the gauze and other wrappings and wrapped up his injured hand.

"Whoa, I feel like I could use a nap. Where's the hammock around here?" He asked, getting up to try and remember where his bedroom was, assuming his kids hadn't converted it over the years into something else. Going down the hall however, he instead discovered that the escape tunnel had been opened.

"Ah, smart kids. Well wait up, I'm coming." He said to himself going down the tunnel, using the wall for extra support.

Unknown to him, he forgot to close the gates to both the yard and the house. And the tunnel.

* * *

The trip to Furinkan went smoothly, encountering zombies almost every two minutes. But two out of three times, those zombies were already eating and not going to look for more. The few that weren't or were willing to strike anyway were repelled by Genma's Happo Fire Bursts, but now he only had one left.

The school came into view and everyone picked up their paces. And they saw a school bus with some people already getting on it.

"Damn, someone must have had the same idea." Toshigi muttered. That didn't stop them from heading towards the bus and waving their arms.

The door to the bus opened and another teacher leaned out. "Hurry up, most of the biters are on the other side but they'll come around here any second!"

"Help me!"

Everyone looked around and saw one of the windows in the school was open. Hinako, still in her child form, was leaning out waving her arms.

"Anyone fast enough to get her and get back?" Toshigi asked.

All eyes were on Ranma, who sighed in reluctance. "Fine I'll do it. Shampoo, Mousse, can you guys back me up?"

The two amazons nodded then the three altogether dashed towards the school. Everyone else began to get onto the bus, yet Nabiki slowly moved towards the back of the group. Once she saw her family and the Saotomes get on board, she made a break for the school.

"Nabiki! What are you doing?!" Akane called out, but couldn't be heard.

"Why is she going in?" Akari asked Ryoga, the two of them being the only ones to remain outside since Katsunishiki couldn't fit on the bus.

"I have no idea."

"Should we help her?"

Ryoga shook his head. "No, we need to make sure no zombies get near the bus."

* * *

The first floor of the school was rather vacant on this side, but the same could not be said for the second floor. Up there Ranma could see students dressed in kendo outfits, teachers who had to stay after hours for one reason or another, and the afternoon custodians. All of whom were more dead than alive.

"Which room was she in?" Mousse asked, taking out some blades and making sure his arm guards were still in place. Shampoo took out her chui, and handed Ranma her dao sword. He looked uncomfortable to have it, but he did need a weapon.

"No idea, but I'm assuming it's a room these guys can't get into."

"Start with closed doors." Shampoo noted then jumped right at a zombie that was coming towards them. The light was less severe indoors so the zombies could see better. She hit it in the nose with her chui, hard enough to snap some bones, and it fell backwards.

More zombies came towards them, and all three struck each time one came close. None of them held back, they fought as if to kill a real person. There was no honor to worry about and no quarter allowed to be given. They had to hit the zombies to the point they stayed down.

Ranma swung the dao and decapitated one of the student zombies. Mousse chopped off the arms of a teacher with his blades. Shampoo ducked and snapped the legs of two more zombies around her, forcing them down then jumped over, spinning in the air and landing on another zombie, snapping its back.

With an opening provided they all dashed down the hall and open the closed doors they saw. The first led just to an empty room, but the second one led to the chemistry lab with Hinako by the windows.

"Oh thank you thank!" She exclaimed happily, coming towards the teenagers.

All of a sudden the three of them were whacked heavily on the back of their heads in quick succession. The blow made them drop to their knees and clutch the back of their heads, but being martial artists they were used to taking hits to the head. Some of them more than others.

Hinako gasped and saw their assailant, a pissed off looking Nabiki standing behind them holding a fire extinguisher and breathing heavily. Whether it was from the running or the effort needed to swing the canister was unknown, and irrelevant.

"At least you led me to a good place." She said before closing the door behind her and locking it from the inside. She then proceeded to the counters and drawers of the room and intentionally knocked over and threw around every chemical she saw.

"What are you doing Tendo?" Hinako asked.

Nabiki ignored her and opened one of the supply closets, making as big a mess as she could. Then she went to one of the provided bunsen burners, ignited it, and threw it across the room. It crashed on the floor where the various chemicals were collecting, and several burst into flames.

"What the hell was that for Nabiki?" Ranma yelled when he got back up, rubbing his skull. The fire extinguisher wasn't exactly more painful than Akane's mallet, but not even the best martial artist can just shrug off an instrument to the head like that.

Nabiki gave him a glare with enough hate to choke a Nazi, made worse by the fire getting bigger. "I said I was going to kill you Saotome, and I don't make idle threats."

"You do realize we can get out of here right?" Mousse asked her.

Nabiki grabbed the wash station hose and sprayed the three down, triggering their curses. "Good luck with that. Burn in hell, all of you." She then took a deep breath and jumped out the window, rolling up into a ball and trying to withstand the landing as best she could. She could feel a few bones break, but she survived.

"Nabiki!" Soun cried, rushing out of the bus to go get her.

Up in the room, Ranma was screaming and trying to keep away from Shampoo as a cat. Shampoo tried to avoid him too in order for him to calm down, and Mousse looked for a way for them to turn back to normal. Hinako tried to open the door, but in the stress of the moment she couldn't control her hands enough to actually unlock it.

Everyone started coughing, the flames were getting bigger and it was likely these chemicals were more than just flammable in nature.

"Saotome calm down! We need to get out of here!" Hinako told her student, finally managing to get the door unlocked and open. Her words didn't work, so she went up to the aquatransexual and slapped her. Ranma quieted down and shook her head, then nodded. She picked up Mousse while Hinako picked up Shampoo and they went into the hall.

* * *

"What happened?" Nodoka asked when Soun brought Nabiki into the bus.

Nabiki struggled to not cry out, holding onto her broken arm. "Zombies... got them... none of them... made it... go now!"

"No, that's impossible!"

Fire could be seen now, and several passengers pointed it out.

"I'm sorry, but we can't wait anymore." Toshigi said, seated at the driver's seat and ready to close the door.

Without a word, Nodoka got up and went out, followed by Genma. Ukyo and Konatsu followed too. Soun and Akane were somewhat surprised to see them go, but concern for Nabiki prevented them from following.

"May Kami-sama have mercy on them." Toshigi said before closing the door and hitting the accelerator. The bus went forward and in no time they drove off Furinkan property.

 _'Ranma...'_ Akane thought, shedding a tear as she gave the school one last look, uncertain if she'd ever see it again.

* * *

The hall was full of more zombies, drawn by the noise of the previous fight. And with their hands full neither Ranma or Hinako could fight at their best. Their only option was to run.

The fire alarm went off and it was disorienting the zombies a lot. Sprinklers went off as well, though with it being a chemical fire the blaze wasn't going to go out that easily.

Heading the way they came up, Ranma and Hinako reached the stairs and went down, running smack into everyone who went into the school and making them fall down into a heap.

"That wasn't funny." Ranma groaned, then was immediately engulfed in a hug by her mother.

"I knew it. I knew you weren't dead."

"Of course not, what made you think I was?" She asked.

"Nabiki said the zombies got you Ranchan. You're not bitten right?" Ukyo asked.

Ranma shook her head, but Hinako paled. "Do bites mean anything?"

Everyone looked to the woman trapped in a child's body, fear all over their faces. "Please say none of them bit you."

She held up her left leg, and near the back of the ankle they could see dried blood around teeth marks. Judging from the bite, whatever did this only have enough time and strength to break the skin, not hurt her any further.

"Do bites mean anything?" She asked again, lowering her leg.

"It means... you're going to become one of those things." Ranma told her.

Hinako gasped, covering her mouth, and began trembling, looking briefly at her leg like she was considering chopping it off right then.

"More are coming." Konatsu warned, gesturing towards some curious zombies down the halls.

Everyone got back on their feet then rushed outside.

"The bus is gone!" Ukyo realized. "They seriously left without us?"

 **We're getting outta this place one way or another.** Genma declared via sign since the sprinklers had turned him into a panda.

"What I wouldn't give for a helicopter to show up anytime soon." Ranma muttered.

"Follow me!" Akari told them, prompting Katsunishiki to run. Everyone followed, except for Hinako. No one noticed she had stayed behind until they left the school grounds.

"Don't just stand there!" Ranma called back before they left altogether.

She shook her head, put Shampoo on the ground, and waved him off. "Go on without me! It's too late for me anyway!"

Stressed for time, and unsure what to say, Ranma simply nodded and left. Shampoo looked at the teacher too then ran off as fast as her cat body could go.

The childlike teacher looked to her wound then the school, noting some of the flames on the second floor that were still going. _'If I'm going to die, I might as well take as many of these things down with me.'_ She went back into the school, never to be seen again.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Ukyo asked anyone who could answer her. At the moment she currently was holding Shampoo's cat form, and tried not to think about how she was holding one of her rivals right in her arms.

"There's a route along the Arakawa river that's mostly devoid of people. It will take us to my ranch." Akari answered.

"You sure about that?" The chef asked.

Akari nodded. "How do you think I can get Katsunishiki in and out of the city so easily? Giant pigs aren't exactly suited for trains after all."

"If there are any trains still operating they've left by now and aren't coming back." Ryoga mentioned.

The group kept running but they were getting tired. As much as they wanted to take a break though, the need to survive was stronger. So far the only thing in their favor right now was the fact that virtually all the zombies were hiding away in shaded places or indoors, away from the harsh lights. At least until the sun went down.

They had to cross the canal and get to the north side of Nerima, trying to be quiet. Dangerous or not, they all had to stop by one of the empty lots and pause for some rest. Most of them had been running all day and even a martial artist gets tired. Genma got to work on heating some water they collected from the canal, hoping to at least have them all be human for this.

"Son, what happened in there? Why was Nabiki the only one who got out?" Nodoka asked now that they had the chance.

Ranma huffed, like she didn't want to talk yet had to say something at the same time. "Because she tried to kill us that's why. Hit us over the head like her sister then started a fire."

"So the ice queen's gone supernova." Ukyo commented snidely.

Nodoka sighed. "I was afraid of that. She said some rather hateful things in the restaurant."

"Hateful? I've seen Happy get less hate from women." Cologne butted in.

"Take it from me, that's saying something." Happosai couldn't help but quip.

Nodoka's expression did not change. "Still, a part of me hoped she was merely speaking out of pain of seeing her sister... die like that."

"Mom, if I had done nothing, Kasumi could have killed either of them." Ranma defended.

Nodoka shook her head. "Yes, but Nabiki doesn't see it that way. I suspect she's in denial that her sister was... in such a state, and sees what you did as nothing short of cold-blooded murder."

"And Akane?"

The Saotome matriarch was unsure how to answer. "I don't think she had time to see Kasumi as one of those. So I don't know what she thinks right now."

"With Nabiki the only one around her for now, I'd bet money that by the time you see her again Ranchan, Akane's going to be out for your blood too." Ukyo claimed, taking no pleasure in the speculation.

Genma poured some water heated by a fire on him, wincing at the burn but otherwise made human again. He handed the bucket to his son, who became male again, then the two amazons became human again too. Fortunately Cologne had gathered their clothes from before, allowing them to redress.

"Everyone ready to move out?" Genma asked.

Everyone nodded and got ready to move on.

"Wait, you hear that?" Mousse asked, adjusting his glasses.

The group went silent, listening for anything.

"Sounds like a siren. But I thought they stopped a while ago." Ranma replied.

"...ill alive?!"

"Wait, there's words as well." Mousse added. "Someone is calling for people?"

"...one still alive out there?!"

"Should we see who it is?" Nodoka asked.

"Can't be anyone dead that's for sure." Genma answered.

The group began moving towards the siren, leaving the empty lot. With the sun low, the shadows were larger and more convenient for the zombies. Everyone got the gut feeling that they were being watched by predators waiting to come out.

"Hello? Is anyone still alive out there?!" They heard someone call out via something like a megaphone in brief times the siren stopped.

"We're here!" Ukyo called back as loud as she could.

They turned around a corner, and down the street only a block or so away they saw a large vehicle like an armored bus slowly driving through, a spotlight on top to search the around. Seeing it made everyone pick up the pace.

Someone must have spotted them because the spotlight went right towards them. Everyone had to pause, lest they be mistaken for a zombie, and waved their arms to make some attempt at being nonthreatening. A door opened, and someone wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet stepped out, holding a machete in one hand.

"Are any of you infected?" They asked, their voice masculine.

"None of us are bitten." Cologne said for the group.

"Get in. Our medic will confirm your health before we escort you to a safer area." The helmeted person told them, moving to allow them to enter. Though Katsunishiki was a tight squeeze.

* * *

Night came, and the school bus was thankfully far from any metropolitan area, stopping for a moment on a road in the mountains.

"Where do we go from here?" Toshigi asked the passengers, and none of them had an answer.

A few people were outside stretching their legs and trying to relax, though with the lack of light they were paranoid that a zombie could be anywhere, despite being far from the city.

"Don't stay out alone like that Akane." Nabiki chided her sister, who was keeping more distance between herself and the others than she preferred. Her broken arm was bandaged and given a splint with the bus's provided first aide kit, though it naturally still did hurt.

Akane gave her sister a harsh look, similar to the kind she had when she was accusing Ranma of something. "Nabiki, did you kill Ranma?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Why else would you run into the school like that? You're not a fighter, you didn't know the teacher, you had nothing to offer, and yet you're the only one who got out."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes slightly but not enough to constitute a frown. "Well it's more than you did to help."

"That's just it Nabiki, you don't help. Not for free anyway, so what were you intending?"

"You seriously gonna accuse me of murder?"

Akane clenched a fist, looking like she was ready to clobber her relative. "I've had time to think Nabiki, and I can't see any other reason for you to do that."

Nabiki then shrugged and rolled her eyes. "C'mon Akane, with all the people who've _tried_ to kill that jerk over the past year what makes you think someone like me actually _could_ do it?"

Now Akane looked right in her eyes with barely a space between them. "I asked you a simple question Nabiki, and you haven't said no yet!"

"Alright fine, no I didn't kill the son of a bitch!" She said for show more than anything.

Akane did not look convinced. "And I'm supposed to believe you when you only say it after I point it out?"

"Whatever Akane, he's dead and what do you care? You never wanted to marry him in the first place. Hell, some people would say _you're_ the one of us that's actually _tried_ to kill him. He's dead and you're off the hook either way through no fault of your own. Win-win if ever there was one. So do whatever pointless mourning you have for the jackass and don't accuse me again without proof."

She then walked off, leaving her sister to sulk. _'He better be dead, but now I'm starting to wonder myself. I did everything I could to leave him for dead, but knowing that jerk's luck he somehow got out of there alive. Grr... I want to know for sure, but how can I without going back to Nerima? I want him dead, and I_ will _get it one way or another.'_

Akane meanwhile looked up to the moon, briefly imagining Ranma's face in it. _'Will I ever see you again?'_ The image then shifted to the memory of him shattering Kasumi's head before her eyes, and her heart ached again. ' _Do I even want to?'_

* * *

The armored bus took them out of the greater Tokyo area, stopping outside Saitama.

"We have nowhere to take you, since we're not certain just how far this has spread. So from this point on, you're on your own. Our medic will inform you of what best to do from here." The escort claimed, showing them a white tent to enter, surrounded by a chain link fence that had only recently been set up.

"Hello, no need to panic. I'm-" The medic greeted when they entered, only to stop when he saw them.

Ranma dropped his jaw. "No way. Doc?"

"Tofu?" Genma added, equally surprised.

"Ranma? Mr Saotome? Oh I'm so glad to see you made it." Tofu replied, quickly looking over the group. "Where are the Tendos They weren't... were they?"

Ranma sadly shook his head. "No, just Kasumi. The others made it, but they kind of left us behind."

Tofu looked like he was about to faint. "Kasumi... she... got infected?" Ranma slowly nodded, and the doctor fell to his knees.

"What you doing here?" Shampoo tried to ask him, but he did not answer.

"We might need another medic for the time being." Genma mentioned.

Fortunately, Tofu was not the only medic in the tent, so the group managed to get checked. They were free of bites, blood was drawn and declared free of infection, and they were given some kind of inoculation. The doctor said this was only experimental, and there was no guarantee that it would protect them from whatever was causing this. The whole process took a little over an hour.

"Should we keep going?" Akari asked when they were ushered out.

"Let's try Tofu again. He must know something about this." Ranma insisted.

They looked for the medic, but it took them a while to find him. When they did, he was outside sipping on a can of tea.

"I had a feeling you all would come looking for me." He said when they got closer. "I suppose you're wondering what I know."

"Just what do you know?" Ranma asked.

"And why are you involved?" Genma added. "I mean no offense, but you don't really strike me as the kind of doctor that would be..." He struggled to find the right words.

Tofu nodded. "Yeah, I'm not. And that's actually why I'm here in the first place."

"That make no sense." Shampoo pointed out.

"Allow me to elaborate." Tofu replied, pausing only to have one last sip. "About a year ago, I was contacted by the national medical agency of Japan. They asked for me to help them in understanding a discovery that was considerably severe. Naturally I was confused, but I was also curious and unsure how exactly to refuse. I was also warned that by accepting I would be gone for an unknown but hopefully not too long time, so I had to close up my clinic for the time."

"I arrived at the place they asked me to go, and they brought me to a large room. Many other medics were there, from so many fields. Surgery, pediatric, chiropractic, pharmaceutical, you name it. The board said they needed many medics from every known field to go over what they had found, because it was the kind of ailment that would destroy everything we knew about biology."

"So why you? I mean, you're good at what you do, but I wouldn't have you pegged down as the best option available." Genma repeated.

Tofu nodded. "I agree, but they apparently needed medics like me. Saying that our eyes weren't clouded by fame so the more obscure medics like myself might see things that the prestigious doctors might miss. They really didn't want to take any chances on this." He then silently scoffed. "Personally though, I think I was merely a disposal option. I was there either because no one would miss me if I got infected, or I could replace a better expert if _they_ got infected."

"So this zombie apocalypse is being caused by a virus?" Cologne asked.

"Presumably. It's a microorganism unlike any other known to biology, but for simplicity's sake we refer to the cause as The Virus. Sounds more appropriate, doesn't it?"

"What can you tell us about this virus? Obviously you've survived, you must know something." Cologne asked.

"Like how did it get out and spread all over town?" Ryoga added.

Tofu looked a bit melancholy. "It's not just Nerima, several of the most populated places in the world have been hit. Places with a lot of people and a lot of tourists. This thing is spreading so much even a wildfire would tell it to slow down. By now, a quarter of a billion people should already be dead. And those dead people are only killing more."

Everyone silently let this sink in.

"Fortunately, we do know a few things about how to defend against the infected. They dislike sunlight, no not like vampires, their pupils can't dilate or constrict anymore so direct light is painful for them now. They are attracted to noise so use that to your advantage. And they apparently need to consume a lot of protein to prevent Rigor Mortis from setting in, so if they go too long without eating enough protein they'll basically starve to death and go inert like the dead should."

"So we need to find somewhere to hide at night, be quiet, and wait this out, and after a month hopefully the worst of this will be over?" Cologne summarized.

Tofu nodded. "Yes, move during the day, stay hidden at night, find somewhere safe where you can get food and water since those will become hard to find soon, set up a barricade, and just try to wait this out."

"My ranch is a good place to start, but I don't know if we can stay safe there for weeks on the supplies we have." Akari reminded everyone, sounding like she was disappointing them somehow.

"How long do you think this will last?" Ranma asked the doctor.

Tofu looked hesitant to answer. "I wish I could tell you. This is not my area of expertise, we still don't know for sure just what the Virus actually is and so we have no idea how long it can or will remain active. It could be a few weeks, it could even be a few decades. The Bubonic Plague lasted for the better part of a century after all before it finally died out."

Those listening to him looked like their pants were about to get darker after hearing that.

"Our research only dealt with the recently infected, and we often had to destroy the bodies after a while. Keep in mind it can take eight to twelve years for an unembalmed adult human body to completely rot away, and that's with them not being in a coffin. We have _no_ idea how long a dead body that manages to stay mobile and metabolize protein can last before it rots away. For all we know, it can be in such a state indefinitely."

"So in short, a ranch might not last us long enough." Akari remarked, disappointment unmistakable in her voice now.

"It'll do for now. That's all we can ask for." Genma claimed. "What about you Doc?"

"I'm still going to stay with my associates and help find survivors and get them taken care of. I believe there's supposed to be a preset safe zone, but since I haven't heard anything official I can't promise anything about that either. Perhaps later I'll be able to contact you guys again and let you know if anything changes." Tofu told everyone.

"I hope we see you again Doc, alive." Ranma replied. "And if you see the Tendos in that time, make sure Akane and Nabiki learn the truth about their sister."

Tofu nodded. "Stay here for the night. It's not safe to go out in the dark."

* * *

The next morning, the group of martial artists began a trek towards the Unryu ranch, hoping the zombies hadn't beaten them to it. There was virtually no talking, mostly because no one knew what to say. And for the most part, everyone was keeping an eye out for potentially hiding zombies.

 _'I need to alert the tribe, but how can I contact them?'_ Cologne asked herself. _'The mail will likely be frozen for now, no one I know uses computers, and I don't like the odds of me getting there before the virus spreads that far.'_

An idea came to her, and she went towards Mousse. "Mousse, I need you to do something."

"What?" He asked, hesitant since she rarely asked him for anything important.

"We need to alert the tribe. If the Virus gets to them they could be wiped out in no time. And I don't even want to think about the Musk or Phoenix getting infected as well. The problem is we have no way to inform them."

"Uhh... hate to break it to you, but I don't either."

"Actually, you do. The only option we have left is the direct approach. We have to return home, and you are the one who can do that in the fastest time."

Shampoo perked up. "That right. Mousse can fly home and warn everyone."

The myopic boy had to admit they were right, but he was not convinced. "You're not just trying to get rid of me are you?"

"If I were I would have just left you to the zombies now wouldn't I?" Colgone argued. "Look part timer, I'm not going to order you to do this. I know even if I did you'd just do what you want anyway, and frankly I admit that your unique skills and awareness of the undead have helped us survive as long as we have. I am grateful to you Mousse, and I believe having you here will be to our advantage."

Mousse was surprised. Not often did the old ghoul praise him, if ever.

"But I am also concerned for our home and everyone in it. If this virus makes it way to Jusendo, our entire way of life could be wiped out in a day or two. Your mother could become one of those things too. So, I ask you Mousse, will you warn them?"

He thought it over, unable to come up with any better alternative to her suggestion. He looked to Shampoo, who gave him pleading eyes, possibly asking him to save her father and warrior sisters back in Joketsuzoku. He also saw Ranma, and for a moment his jealousy sparked up again. But for once, his decency was stronger. What was he supposed to say, 'Sorry but I'd rather see our home die than leave Saotome alone with Shampoo'? He wouldn't deserve Shampoo's love if he was willing to let that happen.

"I'll do it, but how do I convince them to listen? You didn't exactly listen until you saw it with your own eyes."

Cologne had to think that over. "Hmm... I'll have to write up something and give it my personal seal. It's a long shot, but if they see it in my writing they'll have to at least look into it."

Mousse nodded, and Shampoo surprised him with a grateful hug. She released him before he could take the opportunity to return it.

The group continued onward, walking down a simple paved road devoid of cars in the countryside. During the walk Nodoka did something surprising. She came up alongside Shampoo and silently asked her to come towards the back of the group as they walked, as if to get some sort of privacy. She did the same with Ukyo, who looked just as perplexed as the Chinese amazon.

"So, I understand that you have an interest in my son, and your laws make it so you have a claim to him, am I right?"

Shampoo was confused and didn't know what to say, so she just nodded.

"And what is that other boy to you?"

"Mousse? He old childhood friend who want Shampoo, but I no want him. No like that."

"I see." Nodoka said then turned towards the okonomiyaki chef. "And I understand my husband made a deal with your father when you were a child to wed my son and stole the dowry, am I right?"

Ukyo nodded too.

"Now normally, I wouldn't think anything of this, but with the agreement with the Tendos now in shambles, I need to be open to alternatives."

Ukyo frowned. "What the hell? We're not good enough for Ranchan until Akane stops being the first choice?"

"That's not what I'm saying." Nodoka defended.

"Is it? Because you basically just said the worst Tendo is still better than the best alternative. If you don't believe me, would you be trying to pair Ranchan with Nabiki or Kasumi before you even considered us?"

Nodoka frowned. "Kasumi is dead and Nabiki is... unfit to be with my son."

"Which proves my point. You're only considering the two of us as options because the ones you _wanted_ to consider aren't available anymore, and if they were for all you cared we could drop off the face of the earth."

"You are being very rude."

"But am I wrong?" Ukyo challenged.

"Look, I'm willing to give the both of you a chance to be with my son. Do you not want it?"

"I do." Shampoo jumped in.

Ukyo crossed her arms. "I do too, but if you think I need to be as good as a Tendo to earn the right to marry Ranchan, I think you need to remember it's Ranchan who has to actually marry someone, not you."

"I have a right to decide if my potential daughter-in-law is worthy." Nodoka stated.

"And that trumps Ranchan's right to decide who his wife is?"

"Could we not fight?" Shampoo asked.

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, that sounds perfect. For now, let's just focus on surviving this whole ordeal."

Ukyo nodded as well, and everyone was silent again.

"I can see my ranch up ahead." Akari called out to everyone.

Everyone picked up the pace and soon enough a farmhouse with a wooden fence around the property came into view. They got there quickly, stopping only so Akari could open the gate, then they came in.

"Akari, what took you so long to get back?" A woman that looked like an older Akari asked coming out of the house.

Ranma looked to the pig enthusiast. "She family?"

Akari nodded. "You didn't think my grandpa was my only relative did you?"

Ranma shrugged. "You never mentioned anyone else."

Akari looked to the older woman. "Mom, something very bad has happened."


	5. Lifeline

Chapter 5-Lifeline

Night came, and everyone tried to get some sleep. Akari's family had allowed them to bunk in the guestroom, though it was a little cramped. It was still better than sleeping in the pigpens at least.

Ranma at the moment was not asleep. He was on the rooftop, looking up at the sky and occasionally towards the horizon.

 _'Night used to be so peaceful for me, but how peaceful can it be if the dead are walking and eating people?'_

"Airen? Why you up?" Shampoo asked, coming onto the roof and taking a seat besides him.

"Dunno, kinda hard to sleep when there could be zombies hiding somewhere in the dark." He muttered.

Shampoo nodded. "Yes, Shampoo hope Mousse make it home safe." The weapons expert had already left that afternoon to make the most time in his long flight.

"You holding up okay?" He asked, remembering the diary she wrote and Cologne showing it to him before all this started. They never did get that chance to talk about Shampoo's potential depression, and Ranma was sure experiencing all this wasn't helping her.

The Chinese Amazon laid back on the roof and nodded again. "Still alive, that a good sign."

"Yeah, it is."

"Thinking about Akane?" Shampoo added.

Ranma shrugged a little. "A little, I mean, she's out there in danger too."

"You going go look for her?"

The pigtailed teen shook his head much to Shampoo's surprise. "No, it's not a good time. Until we have a safe place to hide there's no point. I mean, if I did find Akane what would we do next if we had nowhere to go? For now, I can't do anything but hope that she and her family are safe too."

Shampoo nodded, agreeing he had a point.

"Besides, she probably doesn't want me trying to find her right now." He added.

"What you mean?"

"She saw me kill her sister. Zombie or not, she's going to remember that forever. Could you love someone who killed your sister? Even if they had a good reason for it?" He asked, and she didn't reply. "Plus she's with Nabiki, who tried to kill me. By the time I do see Akane again, for all I know she's going to want me dead too."

"Sorry." Shampoo said softly, as if worried this would bother him.

"How are you by the way?" He asked. "I imagine this has to be worse than having a ghost cat trying to turn you into his bride."

Shampoo shuddered at that memory. "Yes, this much worse." She then surprisingly looked a little depressed. "And if Airen think Akane hate him, she _will_ hate Shampoo."

"Why? What did you do here?"

"I think... it my fault Kasumi become zombie."

Ranma blinked. "Wait, it's your fault she got bitten?" She nodded, avoiding eye contact. "Hmm... I remember after she got bitten you came by and told me you were sorry. _That's_ what you meant?" She nodded again. "How did it happen?"

"Dog attack me as cat. Kasumi save me, get bit instead. She died...because of me."

To Shampoo's surprise, the pigtailed teen scooted over and pulled her into a comforting hug. Since she could not recall the last time he had been the one to instigate physical contact with her, she joined in the embrace and let herself enjoy it.

"Not to be ungrateful Airen, but why hug?"

"I just thought you needed it. I hate seeing you depressed." He answered. _'Actually I hate seeing any girl depressed, but she needs this the most right now.'_

Shampoo smiled and let loose a couple of tears. Whatever came tomorrow, be it more zombies or some new threat altogether, at least she had her fiancee with her, showing her the kind of tender concern that made her fall for him in the first place. Perhaps she could make it through this end of the world event after all.

* * *

The sun came up and if you didn't know any better you'd swear it was going to be a day like any other day. But that could not be said for the majority of the world. Those that were still alive that is.

At the Unryuu ranch, a quick head count was done, yielding good results since no one was missing or dead. Though the women were unhappy to find Happosai try sneaking into the underwear drawers of the women who lived there. Ryoga came close to bashing the old pervert's head in when he tried to snatch Akari's unmentionables. After that, Genma, Ranma, and Ryoga went outside to check if any zombies had come by the ranch or were still nearby.

"Anything out there?" Nodoka asked when they came back.

"Good news is there were no zombies around. And I didn't see any signs of them having come this way during the night." Genma answered.

"So what's the bad news?" Ukyo added, getting the impression the panda wasn't done here.

"We did a full perimeter check, and sadly I don't believe this ranch will do us much good when the zombies eventually get here."

"What if they don't?" Akari's mother, a woman named Mikira Unryu, asked. She looked a lot like her daughter except a good twenty years older. Her dark hair was shorter and held up in a bun, her clothes a simple blue and white dress that looked like it was used to being dirty.

"You have pigs here right? Do you ever tell yourself that predators will never come for them?" Genma asked. "Your current barriers will work to keep out the occasional fox or wolf that might come this way, but against a zombie they'll be at best a hurdle, not a defense."

Ranma leaned closer to Ukyo. "Do wolves even live in this part of Japan anymore?" He whispered. Ukyo's only response was a shrug.

"You need to think of the undead as predators, not as people. They will hunt like predators and we are the prey. To protect ourselves, we need to do what prey does to stay away from the predators." Genma continued.

"Excellent point Genma." Happosai agreed.

"I find myself having a difficult time saying this, but I agree with Happy and the panda." Cologne spoke up. "I trust that your time on the road roughing it and being taught by Happy has enlightened you to a few things regarding hunting and being hunted, am I right Genma?"

The Saotome patriarch nodded. "Yes. I may be many things, but you cannot deny that I am a survivor. I may not know zombies as well as that boy with the glasses, but I know hunters and predators."

"Me too." Akari's father, a man named Koji Unryu, agreed. He wasn't a muscular man but he still looked like he was used to working hard and getting his hands dirty. He had dark brown hair cut short and wore a red shirt with faded jeans and at the moment a bandage around his left elbow. He assured them it was from accidentally hitting it a week ago while repairing a broken fence, and showed them a lack of any bite mark to make them feel better. "I've spent my entire life here taking care of the pigs. I'd be pretty stupid if I didn't know how to keep the predators away."

"So what do we do?" Ryoga asked.

"My main thought is we get out of here while we can." Genma started.

"And where exactly would we go?" Nodoka asked.

"Somewhere fortified, with better defenses than a fence and a couple of scarecrows."

Mikira frowned. "We're better defended than that."

"Again, you're prepared for small animals. If something like a bear were to come, your giant pig might have a shot, but a group of zombies is much worse than a bear." Genma countered.

"I have to admit he does have a point." Akari said. "Katsunishiki can't fight against these things. If they come here, we'd be in serious trouble."

Sensing she was starting to get a little afraid, Ryoga put an arm around her. She smiled and leaned towards him in gratitude.

"So somewhere fortified? You know any castles around here Pop?" Ranma asked sarcastically.

Genma smiled. "Actually, a castle is exactly what I had in mind."

"I was being sarcastic you dolt. What, you think the daimyo is going to just give us shelter?"

"I wasn't talking about the imperial palace boy. There are old castles and forts still standing from the feudal era and other periods that could do the job just as well."

"Husband, most of those if not all of them are in terrible condition." Nodoka argued.

"Not all of them. Several are still maintained for historical value and tourists sights. They keep the rustic look to better emphasize the age and history of the place, not because it's dilapidated or anything. I remember seeing a couple a few years ago back when me and the boy were still traveling. I'm sure if we can get to one, it will be perfect for us to use."

Shampoo, Ukyo, and Ryoga looked to the pigtailed teen, who simply shrugged. "Sorry, I don't remember this."

"Let's go ahead and say you are right Genma." Cologne started. "Right now I don't think any of us know where such a castle is or how to get to it. Not to mention we still need supplies."

"And what about Mousse? If we leave here, how he come back?" Shampoo added.

"I'm not saying we leave today. We do need time to stock up and figure out how to get to where I'm planning. Sadly, I worry the journey will not be quick or danger-free." Genma claimed. "But we do need to hurry. The longer we wait, not only will it be more likely that the zombies will come here, but other survivors will take alternative safe areas before we can."

"That's a good point. I hadn't thought of other people getting to their own safe zones before we could get to one ourselves." Ryoga agreed.

"Okay, we'll take some time to prepare and plan. For now, work on getting this place more secure, in case the danger comes before we're ready to leave." Cologne ordered, getting several nods.

* * *

In another part of Japan, the mountains north of Tokyo to be more specific, another group of survivors were trying to figure out where to go. They had no maps, and they weren't getting any reception on their phones. Worse, their bus was out of gas, forcing them to walk.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to find some shelter that will keep the zombies out." One of the adults announced.

"Well duh! What else would we be doing?!" One of the students of Furinkan replied. "Be more specific! Where can we find such shelter?!"

"If anyone has any ideas feel free to share them." Takeuchi claimed, sounding annoyed by the teenager.

"We need somewhere fortified and well-stocked." Mayu suggested, keeping her son Takeru close to her. "Somewhere like a military base or a ship at sea."

"Oh yeah, because we could easily get into any one of those. I do it all the time." Hitomi sarcastically remarked.

"Hold on a minute, that's worth a try." Toshigi jumped in. "I figure the military has to provide shelter to civilians coming to them in a time like this. And if we could get to a ship, odds are no zombies could come after us. They're not the swimming dead after all."

Several people slowly nodded, seeing the logic behind these reasons.

"Does anyone here actually know where to find either?" Soun asked.

No one had an answer to that.

"Maybe we should find somewhere with better internet connection so we can look up this data." Nabiki suggested. "We may not be able to call anyone, but the web still works."

"That sounds like a good idea." Toshigi agreed. "I think for now we should focus on getting supplies and finding information, then we can figure out where to go."

With no one having a better idea, the group continued on walking through the wilderness, keeping an eye out for anything that could pose a threat to them.

 _'I don't like this.'_ Nabiki thought, eyeing all the people around her except for what remained of her family. _'Everyone's acting like they'll keep everyone safe, but as soon as trouble shows up it'll be every man and woman for themselves. It's simple human nature, everyone's selfish in a crisis. There's not a single person here that wouldn't throw me or my family into the fire to save themselves without a second thought. If I'm going to keep us alive through all this, I need to take control of this group right away. Make sure everyone here knows damn well there will be no more Tendo deaths, for any reason.'_

All she needed was a way to make a grab for power. Luckily, she had time to figure that out.

* * *

Closer to the ocean but still far from it, a third group that had escaped from Nerima was trying to get to safety as well. It was the smaller of the three clusters, but it was no less determined to stay alive.

"Where are we going?" A teenager asked as they took a break atop a now abandoned supermarket. This was the best vantage point to see trouble as they sat down and helped themselves to a potluck lunch prepared from the resources acquired inside.

"I know of a possible sanctuary." Kuno spoke up, rising to his feet. "It's a small island off the southern shore. It has fresh water and an abundance of edible food, especially watermelon, and is completely uninhabited. These monsters bearing human form will surely not be there."

Kuno was not all too pleased with the idea of returning to this particular island, but it was reasonably safe and easy to get to. Plus his sister still had not caught up to him and he needed to stick to places he had told her about so she could find him.

"An island? Are we supposed to swim to it?" Another teen asked, this one looking like he spent more time watching tv than exercising.

"Is it not worth it to be safe?" Kuno asked back.

"Not if the zombies can swim too." One of the adults pointed out.

"Zombies can't swim, they'd just float or sink like any other dead body."

"'Any other dead body' wouldn't be hunting us in the first place." The adult chided.

"People please, remain calm." Kuno advised. "I know it's a risk, but it only has to be temporary. We will find somewhere safer, but right now let us not deny the option we have. Unless any has a better destination."

No one did, and rather than debate more they went back to eating and keeping watch.

* * *

Days went by with things starting to settle down at the Unryuu ranch with so many extra people. Genma, Ranma, Ryoga, and Konatsu did what they could to improve the perimeter around the ranch and keep the undead from getting inside. This included wooden spikes around the fences, ditches, nets, and torches to light at night in hope that the fire would hurt the zombies visually if not outright burn the more aggressive ones. The women did what they could to make living there comfortable, though with Happosai there and limited to just their underwear they probably had it worse than the men did. Cologne was a godsend keeping the old lech at bay, and frankly the only reason they tolerated him was because no one wanted to risk him turning into a zombie too.

Supplies were limited so a few trips into the nearest town were needed. It was clear that the outbreak was spreading and survivors were getting desperate. Most stores were broken into and ransacked, with the messy remains of human bodies scattered around, mere pieces left behind too small or incomplete to reanimate. However, a great many of the abandoned houses had plenty of food and supplies available for the group, and they raided them at their leisure. All trips were done in the day atop Katsunishiki, giving them the best odds of being safe.

Nights were a nightmare for the small band of living people. Shortly after the sun went down, they could hear the horrible cry of the zombies, that sickly combination of screeching and hissing, with undertones of wailing in hunger. It kept them awake and alert all night, praying that the defenses would keep them out. Akari would shiver and spend the night in Ryoga's arms as he struggled to comfort her, with Shampoo and Ukyo attempting the same with Ranma. The tension and need to be alert prevented the two girls from fighting each other over this.

After three days, three long _long_ days, it was agreed they could not keep living this way.

"We have to get out of here. We can't sleep, we're running out of food and water, and I swear I'm starting to hear those things out there talking." Ukyo proclaimed early in the morning.

"But where can we go?" Mikira mother asked.

"I've been thinking, and I think I know the best place we can go to be safe and have a chance to wait this out." Genma stated. "That place is Matsue Castle."

"Matsue Castle? That's over seven hundred kilometers away from here. And it's still surrounded by city, where zombies could be." Ukyo countered.

"I know. But it's still reasonably fortified and close to places where we can get supplies. I've considered closer castles, but Matsue is the one I feel most comfortable with."

"But that's still seven hundred kilometers where zombies can be anywhere." Ryoga pointed out.

"Anyone have any alternatives?" Genma asked.

No one had anything to say.

"The only castles I know of are in Kyoto, and I sure as hell feel better about heading to Matsue than that far." Ukyo commented.

"I don't know of any." Konatsu confessed.

"Is better than going to China." Shampoo agreed.

Ryoga sighed. "I never hated my lack of direction more in my life. I have no idea where to go or how to get there. I can't even begin to think of somewhere better to head to."

"Looks like we have no choice other than staying here, and I really don't want to do that." Ranma lamented.

"I hate the idea of abandoning my home, but I must agree staying here is going to be difficult." Koji agreed sadly. "Let's pack up what we can and head out while we still have daylight."

"What about Mousse?" Shampoo asked.

"The best we can do is leave a note and let him know of our new destination." Cologne offered. "It's just too risky waiting for him to return."

* * *

Tension was growing for the Tendos and their group of survivors as well. Their trek through the mountains was keeping them away from the zombies, but they were suffering every other problem imaginable. Lack of food, sleep, general irritation with each other, all of it emphasized with the fear of anything lurking in the shadows that shouldn't be there.

They had found a river so at least they had water, but that was so far their only luxury. They left the main road to continue directly up the main river, or rather some of them did. Half went off separately, deciding to take their chances heading back to town in hopes of proper help from evacuating forces. The Tendos remained with those wishing to stay away, believing heading back into the metropolis was just too dangerous. Soun was apparently the only one here with any skill at handling the outdoors, so he did what he could to gather food and firewood and comfort. Right now he was the most invaluable member of the group, but he sure didn't feel like it. With the loss of his oldest daughter and now his home, he was more going through the motions and taking orders from his remaining daughters than doing this out of any forethought or desire.

And that was something Nabiki intended to capitalize on.

At the moment Nabiki was walking near the back of the group but not the very back. With her broken arm no one complained or even expected her to contribute that much to gathering supplies or setting up camps, giving her plenty of time to think. And so far she had concluded only two things, that she was the biggest drawback to the crowd and therefore the first one they'd sacrifice, and that she still had no idea how to eliminate that as a possibility.

 _'Okay, right now Dad is the only thing keeping these people alive. No one here will do anything to compromise him, and by extension me or Akane. But that's not going to last forever. Sooner or later others are going to need skills of their own to prevent Dad from being overworked, then his value will diminish and so will our insurance.'_

She glanced at her arm, held in a makeshift sling for the time being. It still hurt, but thankfully the worst of the pain was behind her. To her, she might as well have had a sign advertising 'Zombie Chow' written on her.

 _'I don't have any financial leverage over these people, and even if I did the current situation gives them full freedom to refuse it and defy me. What good is money right now? So far my best bet is to wait until we find a place and try something there. Hoard supplies, generate mistrust so it's not just me they'll be looking to get rid of, that sort of thing. But how to get started, and how to enforce my rule?'_

A brief glimpse of Akane in front of her sparked an idea and got her to smile. _'Ah, I can count on Akane to be my muscle and ensure things stay good for us at least. She's going to do whatever it takes to make sure she doesn't lose the only sister she has left. Maybe I could use her to get the power base started. Tell her that everyone is going to turn against us or something and she'll have to make them all know who's boss here.'_

Wiping the wicked grin off her face, Nabiki stepped up to her sister and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, Akane, you got a moment?" She asked in a whisper.

Akane nodded and slowed pace to keep up with her. "What's wrong Nabiki?" She whispered back.

"I just thought of something that you might want to know. Some of the men here will start getting very perverted ideas."

Akane silently gasped. "What?!"

Nabiki nodded and gestured for her to keep her voice down. "Think about it, we're in what basically amounts to an end-of-the-world scenario. People are dying everywhere or getting so sick they go crazy. In those situations, someone always gets the idea that repopulating is what needs to be done."

"You mean…?" Akane started but didn't finish.

Nabiki nodded again. "Yes, sooner or later some guy here is going to say every woman owes it to the human species to get knocked up right away over and over again. And considering how desperate Dad was to get you engaged to Ranma, I doubt he's going to be any different here."

Akane looked both disgusted and infuriated. "I'll show them."

"Hold on Akane, I might have a way out of it." Nabiki continued, keeping her sister's attention. "Right now we're both just teenage girls. We're the most appealing options for forced breeding and sadly we don't have any power to refuse. Sure you could beat them all off, but you can't do that forever. This isn't the Hentai Horde we're dealing with, sooner or later one of them will catch you off guard and force himself on you or the group will altogether kick you out if you won't play nice, giving you to the diseased maniacs out there."

"Dad would never let them kick me out." The youngest Tendo insisted.

"What if they kick him and me out too? I can't fight and Dad is out of practice. If everyone teams up, the odds are we'd be ousted. The only way we'd be secure is if we can't be removed. If we're too valuable to get rid of or get pregnant."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Study each person still here. Learn their weaknesses, the best ways to hurt them in a fight or in survival. If anyone looks like they'd turn against us, find a way to either cripple or eliminate them. We'll make it where we are the strongest ones here. Where we are the ones keeping them alive and if they want us to keep protecting them then they have to obey us, not the other way around. And when we find somewhere to wait this all out, find a way to control the food too. If we want to survive and not suffer what Kasumi did, we need to make sure that we have the power here. Otherwise it might go to someone who will either turn us into baby machines or leave us to the chaos."

Akane thought it over, seeing the reasoning. Sure her sister was being rather extreme, but she recalled a book called Lord of the Flies where people went crazy and bad people took power and used it to their advantage. Such a thing could easily happen here and they'd get the worst of it.

"You're right, if we don't take control some pervert will. What should I do?"

"You focus on whoever looks like the most threat in a fight. Anyone that might attack us in our sleep or talks about the need for kids or something like that. I'll do the same and try to think about how to get control over the supplies. Dad's doing a good job providing for everyone, but sooner or later someone's going to try and take his place. I'm going to make sure anyone who does try knows it's a bad idea."

Akane nodded and looked over every person there except her father with suspicious eyes, now trusting none of them.

* * *

"I've done several cattle drives in my youth, but never one like this." Cologne said as she helped guide the Unryuu family pigs like a shepherd leading their sheep.

"Isn't this a big risk for us?" Ukyo asked. At the moment they were walking down one of the country highways which was completely devoid of moving traffic. Giving them the room they needed for the pigs but leaving them open to any zombies willing to brave the sunlight.

"We're _not_ abandoning the pigs." Akari declared firmly, riding atop Katsunishiki. The large swine was pulling a cart like a horse with a chariot, carrying Akari's parents and Nodoka. The rest were walking in formation around the pig herd, except for Happosai who indulged himself in a pile of panties on one of their supply carts being pulled by Genma.

"Be sympathetic Ukyo. These pigs can help defend us too, plus without them Akari's family will go bankrupt once this is all over anyway." Ryoga defended while pulling another supply cart, making Akari smile.

"How much money is there to make in pig sumo wrestling?" Ukyo asked.

"You'd be surprised." Akari replied.

"Uh oh, looks like rain's brewing." Akari's mother observed, seeing the clouds darken.

Ranma briefly stiffened then turn around. "Ryoga, give Shampoo your umbrella now."

The lost boy frowned defensively. "No way Ranma, why the hell should I?"

"Because no one has a panic attack when _you_ get wet. Do it or I might as well start running off in a random direction right now."

Huffing, Ryoga gave his umbrella to the Chinese Amazon who opened it ahead of time. Ryoga, now exposed, turned into P-chan and required Konatsu to take his place pulling the cart after giving the piglet to Akari.

"I don't understand, what is the issue here?" Nodoka asked.

"A long story Mom. Let's just say I'm not the only one here with a curse and Shampoo's… isn't the best one for me to be around." Ranma answered, now a girl.

Nodoka didn't like the sound of that, nor the ashamed expression Shampoo had. "Tell me more."

"Here Airen." Shampoo offered, moving so the umbrella covered the both of them.

"Why? I'm already a girl." The pigtailed girl asked but did not leave the cover of the umbrella.

"No need get more wet."

Ranma blushed due to what sharing an umbrella meant in Japan, but shrugged and walked alongside the Chinese Amazon. Needless to say Ryoga and Ukyo weren't that happy to see this either, but considering the cat curse they made sure to keep the context in mind. They had to stick together, not look for reasons to tear each other apart.

* * *

Kuno led on his merry little band of survivors as well towards his chosen destination. He had assumed the role of leader and protector of them all, and frankly no one there was all that interested in taking it from him. Besides, he was the only one there with a weapon, albeit a wooden sword, but a weapon nonetheless. He had already saved their lives when they got attacked once during the night, so he had earned some level of respect among those accompanying him.

"Wait, does anyone else hear that?" One of the teens spoke up as they traveled in the morning.

Everyone stopped and looked around, not trusting any unidentified noise anymore.

"...to all civilians in the area, please come towards the train station!"

"Someone's here, calling for us!" An adult said happily. "We're saved!"

Smiles plastered on their faces, everyone scrambled towards the beckoning call like sailors lured by sirens. It didn't take long to find the local train station where several armed soldiers were there with other civilians being examined and ushered into armored trucks.

"Please remain calm everyone." One of the soldiers advised when Kuno's group came close enough to be addressed. "You will be fed and allowed a chance to clean and get new clothes, after you're confirmed to be infection-free. Those who are will be escorted to safety."

"Where exactly is that?" Kuno asked on behalf of everyone.

"You will be taken to a decommissioned aircraft carrier that already has several refugees situated there. It is safe and fully stocked with no chance of the infection spreading to it."

Kuno was quite pleased with this. _'A battleship, that would be quite the sufficient base to wait out this unholy plague.'_

The soldier guided them to the medics and one by one each was examined. Afterwards each was provided for with donations and acquired supplies that the soldiers likely pilfered from the stores already, and did one more thing the civilians were grateful for. They were given a chance to report any missing persons or find out about those they got separated from in the chaos.

Kuno had of course mentioned his sister, but no one had reported seeing her yet. He even went so far as to mention his father, more out of obligation than familial ties, and got the same exact answer. Right now, it seemed that Tatewaki was the last Kuno alive.

 _'Saotome, my sister went out looking for you. If she suffered in this disaster, I will hold you personally responsible for it.'_ He vowed, gripping the hilt of his bokken vengefully.

* * *

As the days went by, major metropolitan cities around the world became more and more barren, little more than giant graveyards with skyscrapers being the tombstones. The walking dead roamed freely during the night when the sun was not there to bother them, looking for anything warm and still alive. Many had escaped but not all had, taking shelter in any place they could, hoping that the armed forces would come and get them away from this hell on earth before the zombies got to them.

During the hours of the day armored soldiers and scientists in Hazmat suits would systematically patrol some regions of Tokyo, looking for one of many things. Survivors who needed to be evacuated. Infected who needed to be put down. Any sign of how the Virus broke containment and spread so rapidly. When they came to Nerima, one scientist found the headless body of a young woman in the yard of a house and examined her.

"Subject appears to have been dead for a minimum of four days. Head is destroyed so evidence of infection is lacking but a blood sample will confirm that later." He narrated into a recording device, collecting some blood and putting it into a vial. "Signs of blunt force trauma of high caliber would explain the absence of the head. It is my belief that this woman was indeed infected and someone defended themselves from her, presumably with a weapon. Though this is Nerima so martial arts is not out of the question."

He moved around the body, examining other parts. "Signs of further injury are visible. They appear to be cuts made by glass or small knives. The broken window on the second floor suggests the glass, meaning this infected subject had managed to get inside. Suggest an investigation of the house interior for more infected subjects. Furthermore, I see signs that indicate scavengers have been picking at the body. If the Virus gets into the rodent, bird, or insect population, containment could be very well be impossible. I better recheck the studies on the effects it had on animals in the lab."

Taking his own advice, the scientist went inside the house accompanied by a soldier. The immediate area showed no signs of struggle, but there were signs that people had been there eating and sitting around a table. The kitchen, bedrooms, furo, all of them looked completely normal, except for the bedroom with the broken window.

"Infected subject was definitely in this room." The scientist documented. "The door was barricaded from the outside, requiring us to move it to enter, and the window was broken from the inside. Bed sheets are the biggest mess here with signs of blood on them and the nearby floor, and there is flu medication on the nightstand. My hypothesis is the victim was infected slowly and completed the process over a matter of days. But so far there is no evidence to suggest that the Virus spread beyond this one host here. I suspect the others here fled shortly after the victim was destroyed."

"They don't train us for this sort of thing." The soldier couldn't help but lament.

The scientist nodded. "No, and I hate the fact that we live in a world where now we need to."

"Doc level with me, how could this thing break out and spread across the world?" The soldier asked as the two walked back down to the first floor.

The scientist turned off his recorder. "If I may be paranoid, I'd suspect sabotage and biological terrorism. Ignoring that, I'd suspect improper containment methods."

"Is there really no cure?"

The scientist hesitated to answer. "So far no. With each sample we collect we gain more clues, but it could be months or years before we get anything. Best we can do now is a basic inoculation that's little more than a placebo."

"Will this really last years? Shouldn't the corpses all rot away by then?" The soldier added.

The scientist opened the door and they walked out. "They should, but studies show they won't. These corpses, why exactly do you think they're eating the flesh of the living in the first place?"

"I don't even know how they're walking around in the first place, why would I know why they're hungry?"

The scientist headed towards the next house. "At a chemical level, what is it that keeps the human body active and alive?" The soldier shrugged. "Calories and proteins. We don't know exactly how the Virus does what it does, but we suspect the reason the infected become predatorial is the body needs an excess amount of calories and protein to remain active and functional so it can continue to spread the contaminant around."

"And how does this keep them from rotting?" The soldier asked.

"In order for this to work, the body must still be capable of some level of metabolism. Meaning on some cellular level, the body is still technically alive." The scientist explained, using a skeleton key of sorts to unlock the door and enter the house. "To my knowledge, an infected subject is still for all purposes dead, with only three three portions of it maintaining any form of life. The muscles, the digestive system, and the sensory portions of the brain. Everything else is clinically dead."

"Meaning…?" The soldier asked, not getting it.

"They can move so they can hunt. They can digest so they need to eat. They can tell what's around them so they can find prey. But they have no thought process, no healing, no need to breathe, no ability to detox their own blood, and no ability to generate new cells or blood. They're operating only under the need to eat, so part of their hunger is it's the only thing they know how to do anymore. And the other part is… it's the only thing keeping what's still alive of their bodies just that, still alive."

"So a zombie can still starve to death?" The soldier asked.

The scientist nodded. "Yes, an infected subject needs calories and proteins like we do, they just use it for less, keeping them functional while the rest of the body rots away. So a subject who remains well fed will remain active and mobile longer than others, and thus more likely to spread the Virus around to new hosts. It seems only damage to the central nervous system or starvation will kill the infected, and we have no idea how long it will take them to starve."

"Shouldn't it take as long as a normal living person does to starve?" The soldier asked.

"We're dealing with the undead, the normal rules don't apply anymore. For all we know, we could be wrong about starvation and they last until the entire body rots away, and I have no idea how long it takes for that to happen." The scientist reminded him, then turned his recorder back on and continued the investigation.

* * *

Fortune finally smiled on the Tendo group by the end of the week. They had found a place to use as a shelter.

"What is this place?" Gosunkugi there asked, wondering why this building was out here away from any city. It wasn't completely isolated, there was a town in view on the horizon, an unidentified one, but this was apparently something the average person wasn't supposed to come across. The fence with barbed wire on it emphasized that point.

"It almost looks like a military base." Soun noted, having seen at least one of these during his training days. Happosai passed it over since there were no panties to steal from it.

"Excellent. We can get help here." Toshigi declared much to the pleasure of the rest of the group.

They went around the fence ignoring the several warning signs telling them not to trespass and the like. No personnel on site appeared to confront them or warn them away, and no undead came at them either. They soon found the entry gate, which had signs of being torn apart at some point, as if something had ripped open the chain links to get in. And everyone had a good idea what that something was.

"Is it safe?" Someone asked.

"I'll take a closer look. Wait here." Soun offered.

"No Dad, don't. It's too risky." Akane countered, grabbing his sleeve.

"It's okay Akane, someone has to make sure this place is safe." The Tendo patriarch assured, freeing himself then slipping through the gap in the fence. Taking a breath he slowly continued inward, looking everywhere. Still safe, he approached the first door and tried to open it, but of course it was locked. Moving around, he froze when he saw a broken window, with the top part of a dead man slumped over the rim with dried blood on the wall below. It looked like someone had tried to climb out in a hurry but died before they could get out.

Soun slowly came closer since it was a dead body that might not act like one. It wasn't moving, but that didn't make him feel better. But with a closer look, he saw a bullet wound in the head. Someone must have put this poor soul out of his misery before the disease fully claimed him.

Reaching out slowly, Soun attempted to open the window. It wasn't easy, but the body remained inanimate and with some effort the window was open. Soun pushed the body backwards until the window was completely unobscured, then worked his way through the tight squeeze.

Hearing absolutely nothing, Soun kept silent and walked down the hall to unlock the door from the inside. Sadly, there was an active security feature, so he couldn't do that either. Putting that on hold, he wandered down the halls.

In the halls he saw several things. Bloodstains on the wall and floor, shell casings with bullet holes in the walls, a dead body or two, but no signs that anyone alive was still there.

No signs until he heard something clatter from behind one of the doors ahead. He went to it, seeing this one was unlocked and mostly closed but not all the way, stopping outside to keep hearing more. He heard footsteps and crunching sounds. Cautious, he backtracked and took the fire extinguisher off the wall before slowly opening the door.

The room before him looked like the cafeteria, tables and chairs everywhere with not all of them still upright. Inside the room were half a dozen zombies of varying decay and injury shuffling around, looking for anything to eat. Some food was spilled on the floor, apparently not what they were hungry for. And the sound of the door opening prompted them all to look towards Soun.

Three zombies charged at the Tendo patriarch right away, hissing and shrieking at the same time. Soun let lose the extinguisher on them all, stopping them and making three of them fall flailing on the floor. The three remaining zombies came at him too, a little slower compared to the first three but from separate angles. Soun used the extinguisher again at two, halting them, then pivoted as swiftly as he could to get the last one.

With all on the floor Soun acted on first impulse and swung the canister of the extinguisher down on the head of a zombie, much like Akane with her mallet. His weapon was a bit more effective and left a notable dent in the zombie's skull. It was still flailing and trying to grab his leg, so Soun backed away while spraying them more, getting further into the cafeteria. He eyed a door and when close enough he opened it, grateful it wasn't locked.

It was apparently a freezer. Inside he saw tons of frozen food, enough to feed several dozen people for close to a month. And it was still cold, implying this place still had power and therefore other amenities.

"Thank you Kami-sama." He whispered, closing the door and leaving the cafeteria, spraying the undead one more time then rushing down the hall. At another hallway he saw an open door with a dead soldier not too far outside laying on the ground. Ignoring that he went out and turned to find his daughters and their traveling companions.

"There's food here. And power. We have to get rid of some zombies and clean up the blood but we have shelter now." He said crying happy tears.

Everyone cheered. Everyone except Nabiki who still smiled but remained quiet.

 _'Now I can get started. And I think I know how.'_

* * *

"Here we are everyone, Matsue Castle."

The Saotomes, Unryuus, Amazons, and Ryoga and Ukyo stood within sight of the black walls of one of Japan's medieval castles. The top of the castle keep was in view. The trees around it were flowering, giving it a welcoming look.

"We're surrounded by forest and city so we've got access to wood, huntable game, and if we hurry dry food and extra clothes. We're close to a fresh water source. The walls are a natural defense, the castle grounds are big enough and open enough for us to easily see any zombies that do get inside, and the castle itself should be roomy enough for us all and fortified to keep us warm and safe at night." Genma advertised.

"I still can't believe we got here safely." Ryoga mentioned.

"I can't believe you didn't get lost." Ranma remarked in good spirits. Ryoga shrugged and glanced to Akari, as if to credit her for that feat.

"We did get attacked a few times." Ukyo reminded everyone, recalling one night when a small group of zombies managed to find them at night and assault them. Ukyo had spotted them first and quickly decapitated one of them. This alerted the rest and essentially saved them all from becoming food for the carnivorous corpses.

Nodoka smiled and patted the chef on the back. "You saved us all that time. We owe you our lives."

Shampoo frowned. "What about Shampoo?" During the attack one of the zombies had come close to Nodoka. She impaled it with her sword but the undead being still persisted and came dangerously close to biting her. The one thing that saved Ranma's mother from getting bitten was Shampoo coming in and smashing the zombie's head with her chui.

Nodoka frowned. "You got blood all over me. I could have still gotten infected with that virus we were warned about if I didn't have time to get washed right after."

"Let's not fight. Let's get in and make sure no one's beaten us here already." Genma suggested.

Akari's father nodded. "Agreed. And we need to barricade the main entrance. Less chance of anything unwanted getting in."

Everyone continued in, with Shampoo visibly annoyed. Ranma came up beside her and patted her shoulder. "Thanks for saving my mom. I really appreciate it."

Now the purple-haired Amazon smiled. "Welcome Airen."

The group made it through the main entrance, seeing the castle grounds. It looked like the tourist attraction it was and was surprisingly untouched, giving them a good feeling. The Saotomes went inside the castle while the Unryuus and Ryoga stayed outside to manage the pigs. Cologne and Happosai checked the perimeter for anything unusual or dangerous.

"Wow, it's completely clear." Genma observed, seeing the interior being completely vacant.

"No one must have been here when the outbreak happened. Lucky us." Ranma noted.

"Husband, this was a wonderful idea. This will suit us perfectly." Nodoka praised, making Genma smile.

"Let's just hope things don't get worse before they get better." Ranma thought out loud.

"We'll be fine boy. After all, how long can this thing really last?"

 _ _To be continued in__ _ **Resuscitation:**_ _ **When Hell is Full...**_


End file.
